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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24147007">Purity of Nothingness (HIATUS)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/IamHynEd/pseuds/eDficwit'>eDficwit (IamHynEd)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Katekyou Hitman Reborn!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Adventure, Family, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Time Travel</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 18:54:43</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>59,121</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24147007</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/IamHynEd/pseuds/eDficwit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Months after the resolution of the Arcobaleno's curse, Tsuna found himself succeeding as the Neo-Vongola Primo. This particular chapter of his life however, was jumpstarted by time distortions and letters from 25 years in the future. It was a memorable chapter where he and his guardians have to fight alongside their future kids, while also learning how to deal with their antics.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Alliance</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>On Hiatus: Hello everyone! Hope you are all doing well and great. Recently, there has been a surge of works and personal things I need to take care of so I won't be able to update for weeks and even months. Rest assured though that I will finish the story, I just need some time off to get my life on track. I know there are a handful you who have been with PoN for the last months and I'm very grateful for you wonderful people. If you are new to this fic, welcome and I hope you like it.</p>
<p>Well, I think that's all. See you when I see you!~</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A slightly cold breeze greeted the brown-haired boy who just opened his window. For some reason, he woke up a bit too early than most days and that when he decided to get a little bit more sleep, he just can’t. For whatever reason, he can’t seem to calm down. He recalled what happened in the previous days but nothing popped up that could make him feel uneasy. There were no exams to bother him either, at least for this week.</p><p>“I can’t believe it’s the weekend and I’m not oversleeping” he silently muttered while scratching his head in frustration. His train of thought stopped the moment he saw the sun rays slowly creeping in, as if meticulously coloring the neighborhood. ‘Well at least this calmed me down a bit’ he thought to himself.</p><p>“You didn’t strike me to be the sentimental type Tsuna. Is it because you’re nearing death already?” a voice called out to him.</p><p>Tsuna sighed. “Reborn, I just can’t help but feel--- is that… a coffin you’re wearing?” he pointed out at the kid in front of him.</p><p>“Brings you back memories, right? Does this suit your taste or this?” Reborn pulled out another coffin costume with the noticeable Vongola emblem embroidered on it, much to Tsuna’s horror.</p><p>“Ugh, I don’t know if that’s your way of threatening me, but I still don’t want to assume the position” he stated with conviction. The kid jumped down from the desk and exited the room silently.</p><p>‘Was that it? Wow… I never knew I can be that persuasive, most especially Reborn being on the receiving end’ he thought to himself.</p><p>Hiding in the corner, Bianchi together with Reborn silently smirked at Tsuna who was obviously complementing himself for a job well done.</p><p>xxx</p><p>A bunch of luxury cars crowded the entrance to a 5-star hotel and just within minutes, men in black suits came out and escorted a blond-haired man who was loosening up his suit. Along the way, a middle-aged man approached them with a huge smile.</p><p>“Mr. Dino, thank you for choosing our hotel again for your stay here in Japan” the hotel owner greeted and bowed.</p><p>Dino followed suit and bowed. “Sorry we weren’t able to inform you beforehand” he smiled apologetically. The hotel owner stared at him for a good while and only stopped when he was called out by Romario.</p><p>“Oh, my apologies. Its just that you look different, Mr. Dino. Oh and its okay, you’ve been one of our VIPs for the longest time already” the hotel owner explained.</p><p>“Ah… I think its because of this suit. I just came from a very, <em>very</em> formal appointment” Dino replied with a tired look on his face.</p><p>“Oh yes, but of course. Sorry for keeping you here, you must have been very tired. Here’s the key, Romario-san” the owner said bidding them farewell.</p><p>As they made their way to their rooms, Dino can hear mutters coming from his men. He turned around only to be greeted by their seemingly innocent faces.</p><p>He continued walking for a few steps but then he stopped, “As if I’d believe you guys to know nothing. I would expect nothing less from you Romario” His men then started laughing while Romario can’t help but feel guilty, that he tried to silence the others from laughing.</p><p>Dino entered his room and began loosening up his suit further and ruffled his hair that was heavily styled with wax. Romario who just came in looked at his boss who was carelessly laying on the couch.</p><p>“Boss, shall we tell the Ninth regarding the… arrangement?” Romario asked slowly.</p><p>Dino laughed slightly and said in reply “Isn’t the term scandal much suited for this?” The Cavallone boss looked at his subordinate with a tired smile.</p><p>“As long as you guys know what really happened, it’s okay. I just did not know how to handle it since it was a first for me. Don’t worry I only need to go along with it for the time being. What’s important is, they agreed to the alliance. Tell the Ninth of the good news and I’ll be telling my little brother that myself” Dino continued in a much better tone, much to his subordinate’s relief.</p><p>“Then Boss, get some rest. We’ll wake you up at dawn” Romario replied and left the room.</p><p>xxx</p><p>Sweat was trickling down his forehead as Tsuna tried to catch his breath. He looked at Gokudera and Yamamoto who was so fired up about this training that Reborn just announced today.</p><p>‘No wonder he left and did not kick me a while back’ he thought to himself as he watched his friends a good distance ahead of him, about to turn into a corner.</p><p>“Dame-Tsuna, keep up with the pace or jog the whole of Namimori 100 times!” Reborn shouted.</p><p>Tsuna ‘jogged’ rather sloppily trying to finish the last lap. He breathed a sigh of relief as he managed to reach his house a good few minutes before Reborn’s ‘time’s up’.</p><p>“It seems your stamina increased, Tsuna, although you need a bit more training but… you passed. As expected from the one who will become Neo-Vongola Primo” Reborn stated with the usual glimmer in his eyes.</p><p>“Ahhh, I need to eat breakfast” Tsuna reacted right away and dashed into his house. He immediately made his way to the bathroom to change his clothes. As he was about to do so however, he heard a familiar booming sound and rushed towards his room.</p><p>“Lambo, your boss told me not to let you use the bazooka for the time being” he called out but didn’t see anyone. He was about to leave when he felt someone tugging his pants. He then looked down and saw Gokudera and Yamamoto as kids.</p><p>“Boss, the stupid cow flew in that direction, I kicked him out of the way then the bazooka came flying towards us” Gokudera stated. True enough, he heard Lambo crying down below. Tsuna then noted that the two fought again leading them to this situation.</p><p>He glanced at Yamamoto who was yet to speak his thoughts on the matter. “Ah, Giannini-san might’ve tried tuning the bazooka again” he explained to the rain guardian who was taking in his surroundings.</p><p>“Hey, baseball freak. The boss is talking to you! Why aren’t you saying anything?” Gokudera snapped at him who was now pacing the entire room. The rain guardian then looked at Gokudera then to Tsuna. “Uncle, do you know where my dad went?” he politely asked.</p><p>“Un...cle?” Tsuna muttered slowly. ‘It can’t be’ he thought to himself. Yamamoto approached him and asked again where his dad went. “Ah, he’ll be back in a bit, Yama…moto” he carefully replied. Gokudera then approached him and whispered that it would be 5 minutes soon, much to Tsuna’s relief.</p><p>They waited for a few minutes while they both take turns initiating a few small talks with Yamamoto. Tsuna learned that he was participating in a family event. Gokudera, on the other hand, can’t help but notice that he’s a little too quiet to be Yamamoto. The storm guardian then approached the kid “Hey, kid. What’s your <em>complete</em> name again?”</p><p>The kid glanced at him and replied, “Why are you calling me a kid when you’re one?” Tsuna blinked a few times, shocked to hear his response as he then immediately stopped Gokudera who was about to tackle Yamamoto. The rain guardian then pointed out that he’s a lot noisier than before. The storm guardian who was dead set on tackling the kid stopped and thought to himself, ‘Did I meet Yamamoto when I was a kid?’</p><p>“What do you mean by a lot noisier than <em>before</em>?” he stressed the last word. The rain guardian looked at him and instead of answering he muttered, “And a lot dumber, I see” Silence filled the room only to be replaced by Gokudera shouting “I see. You’ve done it, Yamamoto. I’ll beat the hell out of you right now!”</p><p>Tsuna who was still shocked hearing their exchange was snapped back to reality when he saw Gokudera about to use his dynamites. Suddenly, smoke filled the room and there he saw Yamamoto and Gokudera turned back to normal. The storm guardian then grabbed the rain guardian by his clothes and shouted at him, “I know you probably don’t remember, but you said a lot of things that pissed me off too damn well”</p><p>Yamamoto looked at him confused, “What are you talking about, Gokudera? I was just walking in the woods a while back. I think I saw Squalo back there?”</p><p>“Ah, you were hit by the bazooka that was malfunctioning that’s why you were transported to the woods. Did you talk with Squalo?” Tsuna explained.</p><p>“Oh, so was that the future then? No. Actually, now that I think about it, the guy was a bit short and has very long brown hair. Ah, and he doesn’t have a sword at his hand. Though I’m pretty sure he was wearing a Varia uniform for a core member” he recalled.</p><p>“Maybe they recruited another member?” Gokudera replied but then he exclaimed he’ll remember what Yamamoto told him for his entire life and will make him pay. The rain guardian, who was still confused at what his friend was saying, apologized and said he’ll never do it again even though he can’t really remember what could’ve happened. The storm guardian bid his farewell to Tsuna after hearing him say that.</p><p>“Tsuna, what did I do to make him that annoyed?” Yamamoto asked.</p><p>“Ah… your younger self kinda called him noisy… and dumb” Tsuna replied with much difficulty.</p><p>“My younger… self? Hmmm… I’m pretty much confident that I won’t be able to tell someone that, especially to a stranger. But… I guess I was wrong.” Yamamoto pondered for a while and continued “I’ll apologize to him again later then”</p><p>Tsuna reassured Yamamoto that Gokudera wasn’t really annoyed and it seemed that he was just deep in thought a while back. After the rain guardian left, he made his way to the bathroom, changed his clothes and was about to head to the kitchen only to find no one. He then recalled that her mom has gone out shopping with the gang, including Reborn a good while before his friends turned to normal.</p><p>‘Wah. It’s awfully quiet’ he muttered to himself as he reheated his breakfast. He was about to eat when he heard someone at the door. He immediately went and greeted the newcomer.</p><p>“Dino-san! What brings you here?” he beamed while motioning him to come in. Romario greeted Tsuna and bid his farewell to their boss. It was not that long when all of the cars have gone and vanished.</p><p>Dino was then led to the sala by Tsuna and he started with, “I came here because of the Ninth’s order” As soon as Tsuna heard that, he immediately dashed out of the sala and said “I need to eat breakfast” only to be whammed on the face by a large hammer.</p><p>“You’re not getting anywhere with that lame excuse of yours” Reborn stated as the big hammer turned into a rope that tied him up tightly. Dino can’t help but laugh at the sight. “Hi Reborn. It’s been a while. It seems you’re taller than the last time we met” the bucking bronco stated while looking at his teacher.</p><p>“I did. I would be surpassing this idiot’s height in no time” Reborn replied while looking at Tsuna who was still crying himself out telling them that he really hasn’t eaten his breakfast yet.</p><p>“So, what did the Ninth tell you to do?” Reborn asked but stopped him from answering when he heard Mama and the others enter the house. “We’ll continue this upstairs” he commanded while leading the still tied up Tsuna into his room.</p><p>Dino greeted Nana who then invited him to stay for lunch. He agreed and replied that he’ll be catching up with Tsuna first. His glance then went from Nana to Bianchi who immediately smirked at him as soon as they locked eyes. “I’ll be expecting an invitation soon” the Poison Scorpion muttered loud enough for him to hear it.</p><p>“There won’t be any” Dino immediately replied with a forced smile. He then went upstairs, his annoyance evident in the way he climbed it.</p><p>“What invitation was that, Bianchi-san?” Futa who heard their exchange can’t help but be curious.</p><p>“Ah, I don’t really know the details but perhaps, a wedding invitation?” she replied with a smirk.</p><p>“A… wedding invitation? Whose wedding invitation is it?” the brown-haired boy asked, still confused.</p><p>“None other than but his” Bianchi replied as he pointed out to the man who clumsily tripped on the stairs as he was climbing up. Futa was shocked to hear the news and agreed to keep it a secret until the wedding invitation was actually released. What bothered the ranking prince however was the identity of Dino’s fiancé. He has got to discover it by himself. He then started to skim through his Ranking Book and stopped at a blank page. He then wrote: Possible partners for the 10<sup>th</sup> Cavallone Boss, Dino.</p><p>xxx</p><p>“I’ve been sent here by the Ninth to inform you that the Vongola is now in the center of a very big alliance. The mafia groups allied with the family sees the Vongola as their superior, making you the successor to a much bigger Vongola. This is the document signed by each head of the families who agreed to it.” Dino stated outright with a big smile with an equally blinding glimmer in his eyes that rivaled his tutor’s.</p><p>Tsuna glanced at the document and saw a few new names (one that caught his interest in particular was the Veleno family) partnered with a lot of familiar names: Simon, Giglionero, Gesso, Cavallone, Varia.</p><p>“Wait, the Varia agreed to this? Xanxus signed this?” Tsuna asked, not believing his eyes.</p><p>Dino laughed at his younger brother’s shocked expression “Yes they did. But the Varia have special clauses since they insist on being independent from the Vongola, just like the CEDEF. That reminds me, where’s your father, Tsuna?”</p><p>“He hasn’t come back ever since the arcobaleno battle” Tsuna responded plainly. He mentally added that his idiot father has yet to give them a rain check for the last 7 months.</p><p>“His office informed me that he’ll be arriving in Japan this week in preparation for the inheritance ceremony” Dino stated with a light smile. ‘They haven’t made up with each other yet, but I guess its better than their relationship before’ he thought to himself.</p><p>Reborn was about to ask a page in the document that piqued his interest when Tsuna shouted “Inheritance ceremony?!” on the top of his lungs that then earned another wham from the arcobaleno’s hammer.</p><p>“Keep it down, do you want Mama to know about this?” Reborn asked him, annoyance evident on his face. Tsuna then kept his mouth shut the moment he was reminded of it and whispered, “Why another inheritance ceremony?” to Dino.</p><p>“3 days from now, you’ll be finally succeeding as the Neo-Vongola Primo, Tsuna” Dino replied enthusiastically. “The Ninth had already prepared everything, the only thing that is missing after the CEDEF advisor’s signature, is yours. All of your guardians had already signed” he continued. Tsuna turned the page and true enough, his friends signed it all, Mukuro and Hibari and even Lambo.</p><p>He took a very deep breath as he tried to find the right words to say. He looked at Dino and was about to politely turn him down when Reborn interrupted, “What do you mean by complementary allies?”</p><p>“Ah. I almost forgot about that” Dino turned the page again and revealed the section regarding Complementary Allies. The bucking bronco looked at his teacher and pointed at a spot that contained his name.</p><p>“Even if the arcobaleno system have been abolished, you guys are still considered as the strongest seven and so, the Ninth was hoping if you can provide help to the Vongola in the future. Signing the document will not mirror your organization’s will but yours as an individual. Now, it all depends on a complementary ally to use whatever resources he/she has. Also, they have the freedom to withdraw their alliance at any time as long as the complementary ally and the current Vongola boss agrees.” he explained to Reborn who was at the time, fixated on the lower end of the document. Tsuna who was also reading the document saw the same name.</p><p>“The Vindice?” Reborn asked in disbelief.</p><p>“They agreed to this, too?” Tsuna added as he tried to sense if the signature was just an illusion.</p><p>“Well that… Remember the time when the Ninth invited you to the Vongola HQ 2 months before?” Dino asked. Tsuna nodded in reply as he recalled the time when he was kidnapped by Reborn and before he knew it, he woke up inside one of the rooms of the Vongola headquarters. He noted that it was a rather normal mansion with a lot of people roaming around wearing suits. That was what he had thought before he was desperately running around the place trying to meet the Ninth himself. He remembered several instances when he thought he was about to die from the traps. He can’t help but shudder at the thought.</p><p>“How was that connected to the Vindice, Dino-san?” he asked.</p><p>“The Ninth did not tell you but Bermuda came to the HQ to visit you. It seems that Bermuda came to know of the development of this document and was politely telling the guards at the HQ that he wanted to talk to the next boss. Some of the Ninth’s guardians led him to a room and there they explained that you have yet to know the existence of this document. Bermuda agreed to converse and negotiate with the Ninth instead. The signing happened after you were sent off by Ninth in his private jet back to Japan” Dino explained.</p><p>Tsuna did not know how to react at what he heard. Reborn, on the other hand, brought out his pen and signed the document. He looked at Tsuna and smiled. “Today’s an awfully good day Tsuna” he stated. “Verde and Mammon aside, having this much arcobalenos on your side is extremely satisfying. Well done, Neo-Vongola Primo.” he added while showing an even wider grin.</p><p>“You’re the only one satisfied in all of this, Reborn!” Tsuna replied in exasperation. He was about to turn down Dino when he was interrupted (again) by his mom calling out to them for lunch.</p><p>Dino’s eyes sparkled because he was looking forward to eating Mama’s cooking again that he did not saw his younger brother’s worried face.</p><p>“I’ll leave this document to Reborn since it seems you still need some time to think, Tsuna. But remember, your deadline is early morning 3 days from now.” Dino stated as he hurried down the stairs with Reborn towards the kitchen.</p><p>“Including today, that would give me 3 days’ worth of thinking, huh?” he muttered to himself as he followed the two towards the kitchen.</p><p>xxx</p><p>In a laboratory inside the Gesso family’s mansion in Italy, two red dots appeared in a computer screen. The dots continued to grow larger that initiated a continuous beeping sound that also increased in volume.</p><p>A red-haired boy who was about to fall asleep in front of the said computer, was startled and, as a result, fell right off his chair. The boy scrambled his way up while fixing his glasses. His eyes widened at the two dots and immediately shifted his gaze to the upper right corner of the screen.</p><p>“Namimori” he muttered ever so silent, as if he was afraid someone will hear him when it was only him occupying the big laboratory. After a while of thinking, he took his phone out and searched ‘Tsunayoshi Sawada’ in his contact list.</p><p>
  
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Good day! I hope you're liking it thus far. This is my first fic here in AO3 so reviews would be very much appreciated. Thank you~</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Confusion</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Tsuna found himself laying in his bed after a very very lively lunch. He recalled Reborn eating with gusto much more than Lambo and Ipin always does. In addition, Futa kept on staring at the bucking bronco, as if he wanted to bore a hole out of the man. To add a cherry on top, he can’t help but feel a hostile stare directed at Bianchi coming from none other than, Dino himself. Tsuna was anxious that the two would start battling each other but sighed in relief when Romario excused and fetched Dino because of an emergency. He was then reminded by Dino regarding the document on his way out.</p>
<p>Tsuna sighed, sat up and glanced at the sleeping occupants in his room. “They sure are sleeping soundly” he muttered to himself as he silently laughed at what seemed like a chorus of snores coming from Reborn, Lambo and Ipin.</p>
<p>He lay down again and stared at the ceiling. He recalled their discussion a while back regarding the alliance and the inheritance ceremony. ‘I knew this would come’ he thought to himself while recalling what bizarre experiences he gained from the past few months from Reborn. He kinda have the inkling that this tutor of his was giving him an introduction to how the family is managed along with anything and everything that he can learn about the Vongola HQ in Italy. True enough he learned much, enough for him to escape the guards who kept calling him Boss and reach the Ninth amidst the deadly traps, with all four of his limbs still intact. He still can’t forgive Reborn for leaving him all alone in the lion’s den.</p>
<p>He then swayed his head sideways since he was getting a bit sidetracked. He turned to his side and muttered “What matters now is if I really want to assume the position” He turned again, now facing the ceiling. ‘Come to think of it, did I ever weigh my reasons for both choices? I was always quick to respond “No” that I didn’t even got to hear my reason if I somehow accepted it.  Guh… wait, the fact that I’m mulling over my decision means, I’m not dead set at shooting them down after all’ he thought to himself and ended up rolling in his bed with both his hands covering his face.</p>
<p>After a good while, he calmed down. He stood up and slowly exited his room. ‘I can’t believe escaping is an option I’m throwing out of the window’ he thought to himself while mentally picking himself up by convincing him he still has the rest of this day and another 2 days. Maybe, just maybe… he can come up with a decision in the coming days. He nodded to himself and went to the kitchen to drink a glass of cold water.</p>
<p>He was about to return to his room when he saw his mom about to go out. His mom explained that she had forgotten to buy something. He bid her farewell only to be called back by his mother again. “Tsu-kun. I forgot to mention, you have a guest in the sala” she stated and immediately left.</p>
<p>“A guest?” he muttered as he made his way to the sala. Upon reaching it however, he immediately stopped on his tracks when he saw this particular guest.</p>
<p>“Ummm…. excuse me?” Tsuna called out successfully gaining the guest’s attention.</p>
<p>“Ah! Sawada! Can you explain what’s happening here? I was on the way to your mansion” the girl approached him. Tsuna automatically took a step back at the sight of the girl. She was taller than her by a few inches, she was wearing a full black uniform with a familiar emblem on her tie, her shoulder-length blond hair was unruly and not to mention her dark red-brown eyes were frighteningly familiar.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry but… You might’ve gotten… the wrong address?” Tsuna responded politely knowing full well that he does not own a mansion, nor does he know her.</p>
<p>The girl leaned her head sideways as if she’s questioning something. She then proceeded on circling Tsuna, making him really uncomfortable.</p>
<p>He called out again, “Umm, sorry but do you know me?” The girl stopped on her tracks dumbfounded.</p>
<p>“Of course, I do. You’re Sawada Takuya, son of Neo-Vongola Primo” she immediately replied. “What has gotten into you, Sawada? Also, your eye color’s… different” she continued.</p>
<p>Tsuna took another step back, confusion written all over his face. “Sorry… I’m not following you” he slowly replied. The girl went silent for a while and continued, “Do you know me?”</p>
<p>He took a deep breath and replied “No… I don’t” only to be greeted by the girl being silent once again.</p>
<p>Tsuna took the opportunity and asked about who Sawada Takuya is and what she’d meant by ‘son of Neo-Vongola Primo’. The girl still remained silent however that Tsuna wanted to call her attention when he was greeted by a loud shriek. He jumped and backed away a fair distance from her.</p>
<p>“I’m Hikari, your senpai! Don’t forget that, Sawada!” she shouted in his face. Tsuna still sporting a very confused look cannot help but nod. The girl then went on saying that he must ask someone to check up on him just in case he lost his memory again.</p>
<p>On the other hand, Tsuna can’t help but associate the girl in front of him to a certain someone who trained him when they were preparing for the battle at Merone Base. ‘Because of her voice, perhaps?’ he muttered to himself. He glanced at the girl who was pacing and saying out loud that this <em>prank</em> can only be conjured by a master illusionist since the recreation of his <em>old residence</em>, complete with his <em>grandma</em>, was flawless.</p>
<p>“Haha… o---kay. Excuse me for a bit” Tsuna immediately exited the room only to be greeted by Reborn. Relief washed over his confused face after seeing the sun arcobaleno. If someone can provide an explanation to this madness, it would be Reborn.</p>
<p>“A guest?” Reborn asked getting straight to the problem at hand.</p>
<p>Tsuna nodded “I don’t know her but she’s familiar… in a way. I don’t think she’s enemy, but, I can’t understand anything that she’s saying” Tsuna continued explaining that she kept calling him ‘Sawada Takuya’ and that she refers to this house as an ‘old residence’.</p>
<p>“Oi, Sawada! These aren’t illusions at all” Hikari bolted out of the sala and into the hallway. Tsuna turned around and found her carrying Lambo and Ipin upside down. The two kids upon seeing him, immediately asked for help which he then responded quickly.</p>
<p>“Ah yes of course they’re not illusions, Hikari-sa-sen…pai. They’re real li---” Tsuna was interrupted by the girl who motioned as if she figured something out. “Robots! They’re robots, right? Though why Lambo-san and Ipin-san’s kid versions?” She approached the two kids who were now hiding behind Tsuna. “If you want more combat power, their present selves should be enough. Or… was these made not for combat but for Kousei to play with?” she muttered to herself.</p>
<p>‘A new name popped up’ he sighed as he watched Lambo and Ipin running desperately away from the girl all around the house. He needed to put a stop to this but as he was about to, the girl stopped on her own. He followed her line of sight and realized she was staring hard at Reborn.</p>
<p>‘Don’t tell me she switched her target’ Tsuna immediately went in between the girl and the arcobaleno, afraid of what will happen to her if she somehow pissed Reborn off.</p>
<p>“Reborn, I think it’s best for you to go upstairs. I’ll ask her to leave right away” he whispered but Reborn did not reply, instead he walked towards the girl.</p>
<p>“Hikari, right? What allied family are you a part of?” Reborn asked while observing the details of her uniform. The cloth was definitely sewn from Leon’s thread and the embroidered Vongola emblem seem to be emitting a faint lightning flame.</p>
<p>“Allied family? I was originally a complementary ally but--- Ah! That’s a robot of Sensei! When it comes to combat power, this will surely do the job. Spanner-san sure is preparing ahead of time. Though why in his arcobaleno form?” she said as she picked up Reborn. She then went on about the illusion still not wearing off and proceeded to examine the ‘robot’. She turned the ‘robot’ upside down and was about to shake him up and down when she was greeted by Reborn’s headbutt right at her chin. She loosened her grip and took a few steps back.</p>
<p>Tsuna could’ve sworn he heard a bone crack. He immediately approached Hikari and asked if she’s okay. He saw the girl shivering and immediately shouted “Reborn, what did you do that for?”</p>
<p>‘I’ll give her a good job for reacting at the last second’ the arcobaleno thought to himself. “Don’t worry. I only grazed her” Reborn pointed out.</p>
<p>Tsuna glanced again at the girl only to find her trying to muffle her voice. After a good while, Hikari can’t help but laugh out loud while praising Tsuna’s acting skills. She then exclaimed not to underestimate her since she was trained by two arcobalenos ever since she was young. Confused, he looked at Reborn who was approaching the girl again.</p>
<p>“How about a duel then? If I win, you tell me everything I need to know” Reborn offered.</p>
<p>“Then, how about a duel at a shooting range?” Hikari asked to which Reborn quickly agreed. “Then, I’ll prepare our area right away” Hikari replied while jumping around, her eyes twinkling.</p>
<p>Tsuna watched their exchange and just stood there. He approached Reborn and asked what the hell was he planning.</p>
<p>Reborn smiled as he answered “Nothing. I’m just gonna play with her for a bit”</p>
<p>xxx</p>
<p>A calm afternoon greeted the sun guardian who just decided to do another run around Namimori. He started jogging and was about to turn the corner when he saw something falling from the sky. He stopped on his tracks and squinted his eyes.</p>
<p>‘What is that?’ Ryohei asked himself. His eyes then widened when he realized it was a boy who was seemingly unconscious. He immediately climbed to one of the nearby houses in order to locate where the boy will land. When he got the general area, he immediately went down and ran at full speed. He reached the place in a matter of seconds and was about to prepare catching the boy at the spot when he noticed that he was now descending slowly.</p>
<p>The boy who just regained his consciousness, opened his eyes and looked around only to be greeted by the cloudless sky. ‘Ah…Yep. I’m falling’ he calmly thought to himself, as if it were already a normal occurrence for him.  In a matter of seconds, his then curved body straightened as if he was laying down peacefully in the air with his then flailing arms now rested on both of his sides. The boy decided he’ll remain like this until he touched ground. He then recalled something and muttered, “I can’t believe she really charged the bull at us. To think I’d end up being thrown over a hundred feet into the air. Good thing I already mastered flame coating” The boy sighed and was about to reach into his pocket when he heard someone shouting from down below.</p>
<p>Ryohei was the one shouting at him when he noticed the boy moving. The boy turned around, locked eyes with the sun guardian and without warning, crash landed on him quickly. It was a good thing that he was only about 2 feet from the ground that the impact wasn’t that dangerous.</p>
<p>“Ouch. Sorry, I did not intend for this to happen. It was supposed to be a safe landing” the boy apologized while keeping his head down. Ryohei replied that it’s okay and proceeded to stare at him. Since he was keeping his head down, the boy’s black wavy hair and black suit were the only things he can see.</p>
<p>“You seem to be okay now. I don’t know why you’d do that but that was dangerous, so be careful. Next time you try jumping off an airplane, you must have a parachute” the sun guardian stated. The boy tried hard to compose himself but failed to do so. He laughed heartily allowing Ryohei to finally see his face and the Vongola emblem embroidered on his tie.</p>
<p>“Oh... Are you here to see Sawada?” Ryohei asked while pointing at the emblem. The boy stiffened and quickly kept his head down again. After a few seconds, the boy quickly excused himself and dashed away from the sun guardian at full speed.</p>
<p>“Ah, wait! You’re going the wrong way” Ryohei shouted and started running after him.</p>
<p>‘As soon as I get back, I’m gonna change the general flame signature that this emblem accepts. Yes, she may be the oldest of the gang, but her clumsiness will be the end of us’ the boy thought to himself.</p>
<p>“Hey, you okay? You seem annoyed” Ryohei who caught up to him, butted in startling the boy who then immediately sped up. If an outsider saw the two of them, it would seem a running competition. The boy then managed to hide away from the sun guardian after a few turns.</p>
<p>He panted as he tried to steady his breathing from the unexpected sprint he did. ‘He’s definitely in tip-top shape’ he thought while smiling. From his pocket, he took out a round, translucent device. Upon touching it, ripples seem to emerge from his finger and after a while, a sun icon resurfaced. He then muttered ‘Mist’ at the device that was hovering a few inches above his hand. A grid then became visible in the device and after a while, a red dot appeared. “Guh- That gun freak. I bet she’s still oblivious of the fact that we just teleported” he muttered as he rolled his eyes.</p>
<p>In hopes that the sun guardian won’t see him, he proceeded jumping from one roof to another, swiftly making his way to the dot’s coordinates. He landed on top of the said house only to be called out by a familiar voice.</p>
<p>“Oi! You actually found Sawada’s house” Ryohei waved at him who almost lost his footing because of the unexpected turn of events.</p>
<p>‘Unexpected?’ he thought. ‘I should’ve expected much from her’ he sighed and jumped down of the roof with ease.</p>
<p>He smiled at the sun guardian and said “We’ll explain this later” and proceeded to enter the house, not even caring to knock. He took a deep breath and immediately dashed toward Hikari the moment he saw her.</p>
<p>“Ryu! Check this illusion out, pretty neat right?” the girl exclaimed as she pointed at the house. Ryu did not let her speak more however since he effectively dragged her out. Hikari then made a ruckus about her duel with the robot Sensei only to be gripped a little tighter by Ryu. He then whispered that they’d be late for class and immediately dashed while dragging the blonde girl. Tsuna and Ryohei tried to catch up to them but when both of them turned into a corner, they were nowhere in sight.</p>
<p>“Sawada, do you know them?” Ryohei asked Tsuna who just stood there, not being able to process what just happened.</p>
<p>“Sawada?” the sun guardian patted Tsuna on the shoulder who finally answered that he didn’t. Tsuna asked Ryohei if he somehow knew the boy and replied that he had just met him a while back.</p>
<p>“But he kinda looks like you though, just with a different hair” Tsuna muttered to himself.</p>
<p>Ryohei who was about to continue his jog thought that Tsuna said something but brushed it off. “I better get going now, Sawada”</p>
<p>Tsuna waved at the sun guardian and went back inside the house only to remain near the door. He tried remembering the face of the boy who was called by Hikari as Ryu. “Ah, I wasn’t able to get a good look at him but his side profile vaguely resembled Onii-san” he muttered again to himself.</p>
<p>The arcobaleno who also witnessed what happened also has his share of questions he wanted to be answered. “Don’t think about them any further. I will have someone investigate them” Reborn called out. “What is important right now is your decision whether or not you want to be Neo-Vongola Primo” he continued. The tutor stared at his student for a good while before heading towards the door.</p>
<p>“I don’t know” Tsuna muttered, loud enough for his tutor to hear him.</p>
<p>Upon hearing his answer, Reborn paused and then, exited the house with a smile.</p>
<p>
  
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Decision</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>Back at the Gesso Family’s HQ in Italy, the red-haired boy spent half an hour trying to contact anyone back at Namimori but to no avail. ‘This laboratory should negate any signal interferences from the outside. The sensors did not record anything that could jam the signals back in Namimori either’ he thought to himself as streams of numbers flowed rapidly in his wide computer screen. After a few clicks on his keyboard, he suddenly stopped. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Don’t tell me…” he muttered to himself as he quickly stood up and ran at another computer screen opposite his. ‘The core of Vongola is in Japan but the main HQ is still located here in Italy’ he thought as he entered a bunch of numbers as quickly as he can. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>His eyes widened. ‘I thought so’ he muttered while grabbing his stomach. He dashed towards the huge metal door, inputted a code and waited for it to open. But… it did not. Frustration was evident in his face as he tried inputting the code countless of times while enduring the pain in his stomach.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>After a good while, he stopped, scratched his head as he convinced himself that shouting won’t do much since he asked to soundproof the laboratory during its development. “The battle may have already broken out in the surface for all I know” he muttered as he stared at the laboratory filled with computers, robot prototypes and a cabinet that stored box prototypes. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Ah! Why didn’t I think of that?” he exclaimed as he dashed towards the cabinets. His hands wandered into the animal section and landed at moles. ‘They maybe prototypes, but they only pale by 20% in comparison to the completed version that was used in the future’ he assured himself. He took out a ring from his pocket and was about to inject flames into the prototype box weapon when someone called out to him.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Irie-san, are you okay?” worry was evident just by the tone of the voice that he quickly looked at the direction it came from. He can only make out the silhouette of the person that he tried to approach it, only to back away at the last second. He looked at the metal door, there wasn’t any evidence of forced entry. He then thought to himself, ‘An illusion? No, it can’t be’ as his hand slowly reached the compartment nearest to him. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>The silhouette started to move towards him. Irie was sure that he reached into a compartment that had battle type animal box weapons. He assumed a stance ready to inject his flames only to stop when he can finally see the newcomer.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“F-Futa-san?” he stammered. The ranking prince has his hair slicked back and was wearing a black suit topped with a brown overcoat. He looked… formal. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>Futa saw Irie observing him and explained “I was in London a while back. Dino-san asked me to take care of some business in the Veleno Family’s headquarters. And yes, I’m… from the future” </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Veleno Family… Ah, the second largest family in the alliance” Irie stated as he recalled his memory of him back in the Merone Base skimming through the documents that contain information on the allied families of the Vongola.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>Futa nodded and continued, “After my business there, I was scheduled to be teleported here”</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>Irie was confused for a bit but realization hit him “Ah. So that interference was because of the distortion in time and space… And here I thought we were under attack” </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Why would you think that? Also, what’s with that box weapon?” Futa asked while pointing at the boy’s hand.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“I built a sensor that tells me locations of condense amounts of flame energy here in Italy. I wasn’t able to build one specifically for time distortions like what I did for Namimori though, so I ended up concluding someone’s going to ambush us” he explained.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Ah, and I thought… you were an… enemy. I designed the lab to give me a signal if there was an illusion lurking in the premises of the mansion but it didn’t when you showed up so I can only conclude that you’re real and somehow sneaked your way in when I was asleep” he further continued.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>Futa nodded in between explanations and replied “Yes. Sorry about that, the system malfunctioned for a bit that’s why you ended up seeing only my silhouette. I was waiting for it to normalize when you suddenly dashed through the door”</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Wait, you were in here the entire time?” Irie asked while finally returning the box weapon he was holding into its compartment.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Actually, yes” he replied while smiling at him. Futa mentally noted that he has had only a few chances to see Irie-san’s younger self back then. “Irie-san and Tsuna-nii of our time asked me to deliver these to you” he continued while handing Irie a letter. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>Irie stared at it and noticed the Vongola emblem seemingly burned into the surface of the parchment. “You need to inject flames directly into the emblem to open it. That letter only recognizes your flame signature and can only be opened and read by you” Futa stated.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“My flame… signature?” He took his ring again and injected flames as he was instructed. The letter then slowly opened. He observed the letter closely and noticed faint sun flames in every word, he looked up and muttered “How?” to the man before him.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“You did that, Irie-san, you should know how it would work” Futa replied. The red-haired boy can’t help but smile at the various possibilities that this invention would be put into use. He then remembered something. “Wait, so were you also the ones responsible for the two time distortions in Namimori just then?”</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“There were two time distortions in Namimori?” Futa asked, confusion evident in his face. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Oh no. I have to warn Tsyunayoshi-san” he immediately made his way to the door and this time, it successfully opened. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Ah, wait, Irie-san! If you’re going back to Tsuna-nii, can you give him this?” Futa called out and took out another letter from his coat. “Tell him that I will be awaiting his orders here in the Gesso Family’s headquarters” he continued.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Wait, you won’t be going back to your time yet?” Irie asked while the two made their way out of the laboratory and into the main hallway of the mansion.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“No, not yet. I have yet to do my job as the family’s informant. I just need Tsuna-nii’s confirmation on the matter” he explained. “Prior to meeting you, I already asked Byakuran-san regarding my stay here and he agreed” he further continued.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Ah, then can you tell him I’ll be heading back to Japan?” Irie asked and after seeing Futa nod he immediately ran and exited the mansion.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Ah, Shoichi-kun’s gone” Futa looked at the white-haired boy who just arrived. “Yes, sorry about that. As promised, I will be Bluebell’s playmate during my stay here” Futa replied.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Futa-kun, I did say that instead of babysitting you could just… spill the beans” Byakuran stated smiling while still looking at the main door that was flung open by Irie a while back. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>The ranking prince looked down beside him and picked up the familiar blue-haired girl that was clinging to Byakuran. “Hello there, I’m Futa. What’s your name?” he said with a gentle tone.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>The girl looked at him and simply answered “Bluebell”.She then stretched her arms out, her little hands touched his hair and she proceeded to rub his head. Futa who was confused just stood there and after a good while, the girl commanded “Put me down” to which he complied. “Now sit” she again commanded to which he complied again. Bluebell took a few steps back and exclaimed “That’s more like it. You look better that way, Mister” Futa blinked for a while and unconsciously touched his hair that was now let down. He laughed, “Yeah, its more comfortable this way. Thank you, Bluebell. Also, you can just call me Futa” </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>Byakuran watched the exchange and sighed. “I guess I just have to wait for the right time then” he muttered to himself and left.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Byakuran told me you’ll play with me. Then… you’ll be my disciple and I’ll be your master” Bluebell stated while pacing in front of him. Futa can’t help but recall the familiar scene. He decided to respond the way he responded back then “I’m older than you by 3 years, thus I should have more wisdom than you. Why am I your disciple?” he replied.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>The girl stopped pacing, looked at him and shouted “You’re weak, that’s why” Futa agreed rather quick that made Bluebell’s sport a very proud look. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Then, I’ll be in your care, Master Bluebell” he responded with a smile. Bluebell jumped excitedly upon hearing his answer. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“I’ll fix our training grounds first then. Meet me in the garden after ten minutes” she exclaimed as she ran outside the mansion. Futa waved his hand at her with a bright smile. The moment the girl turned her back however, his smile slowly faded.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Huh, it’s raining again” he muttered silently as he kept his head down, tears falling down his face.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>xxx</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>Tsuna woke up late the next morning. He was up ‘til midnight thinking about the inheritance ceremony. “Of course, I wasn’t able to come up with an answer” he sighed as he went down the stairs. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“What’s holding you back?” a voice shouted out. Tsuna who was deep in thought then replied “Yeah, what’s holding me back, anyway? What am I afraid of? Afraid… Am I afraid… of failing? There hasn’t been a time I did not fail that it became the norm for me. So, am I, a failure, afraid of failing? For the Vongola?” He reached the end of the stairs with a solemn expression on his face. He sighed and walked towards the kitchen only to hear the voice call out again only this time, it was a lot angrier. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“What’s holding you back? Tell us already, damn it!” the voice exclaimed. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>Tsuna jumped and turned at the direction of the noise. ‘Don’t tell me there’s another weird guest in there’ he muttered to himself as he subconsciously took a step back.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Calm down, Octopus-head! Let him talk on his own” a voice then responded. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Onii-san? Gokudera?” Tsuna muttered as he finally approached the sala. He found Gokudera being held back by Ryohei while Yamamoto stood in between him and Irie. “What’s… happening here?” he asked, gaining their attention.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Tsunayoshi-kun!” Irie exclaimed as relief washed over his face. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Boss, this guy has been acting suspicious ever since he got here” the storm guardian reported. Tsuna looked at Gokudera and back to Irie who was profusely sweating.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Irie-san, are you okay?” Tsuna asked while noticing that he was grabbing his stomach. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“I’m… okay. Just stomach pains” he responded, sweat still trickling down his face while warily looking at the other guardians around him. All of the occupants in the room thought that he was definitely hiding something from them that the rain guardian then spoke to break the silence.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Tsuna is already awake. You can proceed and talk with him upstairs” Yamamoto offered. The storm guardian was annoyed but kept his mouth shut and reminded Tsuna that they’ll stay downstairs waiting. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>Tsuna nodded at them and made his way back to his room with Irie. He apologized for waking up late and engaged in small talk on the way, he asked if he waited too long and that if Gokudera may have done something to make him nervous. They arrived at his room and for a good while Irie did not speak. Tsuna initiated the talk again but the red-haired boy has yet to give him a response to his questions other than a smile, a nod or swaying of his head. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>Tsuna gave up making small talk and finally asked if there was trouble back in Italy. Irie who gained a little bit color, took a deep breath, and finally answered him. “Sorry about that, Tsunayoshi-kun. I was just jet lagged from the travel and a bit startled by Gokudera-san back there” he explained much to Tsuna’s relief.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Then, why did you come here?” he asked.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“I received a letter that was addressed to you” Irie replied, took the letter out from his coat and placed it over the table. “From Futa-san of 25 years from now” he continued. Upon hearing that, Tsuna who was about to reach the letter, stopped. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Futa? Wait, 25 years from now? Then, the Futa of our time… is in the future? Is he safe?” he asked as he finally reached for the letter.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Yes. Futa-san assured me that his younger self is safe. I found out in my letter that the technology in the future allowed them to teleport people who are time travelling to a specific area. The rule of past and future personas in one timeframe however is not possible so Futa-san’s younger self were manually teleported to the future” he explained. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“What do you mean by ‘manually teleported’?” Tsuna asked while he mentally noted that the ten-year bazooka went missing after yesterday’s incident.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Manual teleportation means those in the future can pinpoint the location of the person they want to teleport and the place they will be teleported in, and they can even do it without the person’s consent” he stated much to Tsuna’s horror.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“T-That’s… incredible but at the same time, terrible” he muttered earning a smile from the red-haired boy.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Don’t worry Tsunayoshi-kun. Only the Vongola can use the technology” he stated only to be greeted by Tsuna’s confused look. “The device can only be run by those who have their flame signatures registered. If an unknown flame signature was received, it will automatically self-destruct” he explained.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Flame signature… do I... need to light my flames then for this letter to open?” Tsuna asked as he ran through the emblem burnt into the parchment. “I can see faint sky flames emanating from it” he stated.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Yes, that’s right. It was your future self that made the letter and that emblem has your sky flames registered” he replied while observing Tsuna motion his index finger on top of the emblem “So I just need it to feed it with my flame?” he looked up at Irie and asked. As soon as the red-haired boy nodded, a pure sky flame appeared on his finger and it was immediately absorbed by the emblem. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>‘He can now light his flames at will’ Irie thought to himself. His face must have been evidently shocked that Tsuna explained he underwent a lot of training from Reborn for the past months to be able to light his flame without relying on deathperation pills.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>Tsuna quickly closed his eyes the moment the letter opened. He gulped and slowly opened his eyes, only to find the parchment blank. Irie explained that he still needed to light his flames and let the parchment absorb it to which he complied. True enough, letters with faint sky flames surrounding them surfaced. He took a deep breath and began reading the letter:</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“To Tsunayoshi Sawada of 25 years ago,</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>According to Irie-san this letter will reach you days before the inheritance ceremony. You must be in a bind right now deciding whether you’ll assume the position or not. I will offer you my thoughts on the matter. We failed at a lot of things, but we always found ourselves laughing in the end because we have our friends backing us up. We already realized it back then when we fought during the arcobaleno boss battles, that we always have them to support us. Also, our picture of the Vongola already changed… from a very dangerous organization that we did not want to be associated with, it slowly changed to a family we were willing to fight for. The fact that I’m writing you this letter with the Vongola emblem might’ve spoiled you your decision in the future but I want you to know that even without this letter, you will still find yourself ending up with that decision. Trust me, its going to be one heck of a ride but I… we will not regret it.”</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>‘I thought so’ Tsuna thought to himself after reading the first paragraph. He laughed for a bit and silently muttered, “I guess I’ll do it then. No, I <em>will</em> do it for them” he muttered silently as his gaze wandered to the second paragraph.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“I really hoped that I can end my letter at this note but… due to certain events, I can’t. I need your help with taking care of some of our family members. If all goes well, they will be teleported a day before the inheritance ceremony in Namimori. I included their profiles in here in hopes of mentally preparing you and your guardians. They’re a wild bunch and they’re about your age group. I hope you’ll spend good time with them. Once it becomes normal here, I will send you a letter and will allow them to teleport via the device here in Vongola HQ.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>You’re probably worried about what these events are but… I don’t want you to spend your time with them worrying about what they experienced. With my consent and the guardians, we asked Irie-san to erase their memories of what happened as soon as they are teleported to your time. Please don’t tell them this. We’ll let them remember their memories after everything’s settled and they’re back here in our time. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>Don’t worry, I will protect the family.”</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>Tsuna stared at the last line until he finally looked at Irie hoping that he knows what is happening 25 years in the future. Irie just stared at him as he silently gauged his expression. After a while he instructed Tsuna that the profiles will appear half an hour after his letter was first opened. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Ah, that’s not what I meant. Do you know what happened… in the future? Did you learn anything from your future self? Mine did not concretely say anything but I’m getting the feeling that they’re in trouble” Tsuna explained. Irie bowed down, took his letter out and placed it on top of his table. He stood up and approached the door. He then relayed that Futa is still in Italy waiting for his command before exiting the room. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Ah! Wait, Irie-san, I won’t be able to open your letter” Tsuna shouted as he tried to catch up to him. Gokudera, Yamamoto and Ryohei heard Tsuna and immediately followed him outside of the house. Tsuna stopped in his tracks however when he realized that Irie wouldn’t be too careless to forget that he can’t open the letter, unless… ‘there are two flame signatures registered in the emblem’ he thought to himself. He then turned back and proceeded to run towards his house, unaware that his guardians followed him outside. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Ah, Gokudera, Yamamoto and Onii-san. Sorry, I’ll explain everything later. I just need to see this for myself first. I hope you understand” he explained with a forced smile; and, upon seeing them nod, he ran inside the house, climbed the stairs while skipping some steps and then, closed the door to his room.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>xxx xxx</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>In a laboratory located hundreds of meters below the Bovino Headquarters, a woman with long olive colored hair that stopped a little above her waist, was pacing around while snapping his fingers. After a good while, she stopped, sighed loudly, and directed her gaze at the farthest end of the laboratory.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Oh, come on, Gyudon! I thought I told you that we were just going to prank them, not really do it. Why’d you go lunging at them at full speed?!” her voice echoed. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>Her eyes then widened after realizing what she did. They were sneaking into the lab, what good would it be if someone heard her shouting like an idiot? </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>She waited for a while and sighed. ‘At the very least, I have this’ she thought as she observed pure mist flames surrounding the entirety of the laboratory. “It won’t last long though” she muttered to herself as she approached the computer near her. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>After a few clicks, she slapped her hands into her face and screamed. The lightning box weapon who are now slowly approaching her returned to its original position in a matter of seconds as soon as the girl let out a muffled scream. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“It was all a theory,<em> still</em> on its theoretical stage. We were supposed to try it with prototypes first, not real live humans right off the bat! Arrrghh!” she scratched her head while still trying to muffle her words through gritting her teeth.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>‘I would’ve asked them to be teleported immediately if I was able to consult those two geniuses. My theory is only fully dependent on the other genius who successfully negated the effect’ she thought while letting herself spin the revolving chair round and round… and round. She then gripped at the table to stop the motion, only to lean back and sigh. ‘Irie-Sensei will definitely revoke my apprenticeship. Putting sensei aside, I don’t even know what my brother will do to me. He’ll definitely kill me!!!’ she screamed again, internally.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>She then stared at the computer in front of her and quickly proceeded to typing once again. Streams of numbers filled her computer and with one click, the large cylindrical screen located at the center of the laboratory displayed a grid. A voice prompt was then heard saying that the Neo Vongola Secondo’s guardians of mist and sun flame signatures was already injected. The woman leaned back as she stared at the Bovino family’s emblem that seemed to further annoy her with its never-ending rotation.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>A bit earlier update. Hope you enjoyed this week's chapter~</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Preparation</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>Late into the night, Reborn found himself inside an elevator, waiting for it to reach the highest floor of the building. He recalled asking Dino whether or not he knew of the guests that came in the afternoon, but apparently, he did not. The bucking bronco agreed to investigate them and arranged for it to be done in secret and fast. When he thought his job was over, some people were confident enough to greet them with an ambush.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>The whole hotel room was covered in smoke. Dino who inhaled it a bit immediately felt his limbs go numb and his vision was becoming hazy. ‘It’s laced with poison’ he thought as he quickly destroyed the glass window with his whip. In just a few seconds, the smoke dispersed allowing him to see what’s going on. Most of his men who were in the room with him were rendered unconscious by the sudden ambush. He caught sight of the arcobaleno who was checking his subordinate’s pulse. “Their pulse is erratic. They need to be treated immediately” Reborn stated.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>Dino looked around searching for the perpetrators only to find two suspicious figures crouched down in the corner of the room. He approached them only to hear the two fighting amongst themselves.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Why are you giving me that look?” the other one asked while the other one sighed.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Like I said, we were supposed to do this in a peaceful manner. Not poison our way in” the other one who just sighed replied.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“But were both used to it, what’s the big deal with that? Besides, I was advised to make our entrance grand” the other one answered and after a while, they finally turned around. Both have platinum blond hairs and seem to be the same age as he is. Their faces were identical that the only thing that distinguishes the two were their clothes and hairstyle.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Twin assassins. Now, tell me, what family are you both a part of?” Dino called out as he readied his whip, now infused with his sky flame.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Ahem. Thank you for coming to our performance. I’m Dancing Death Diane and this is my brother, Jack the Reaper” the woman proclaimed as she curtsied in front of Dino. Her twin however looked at her with a disgusted face. “Oh, come on, Jack. I know your catchphrase’s not an original but… it really suits your profession, you know!” Diane continued as she proceeded to twirl around him.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Just do what you need to do. I’ll be giving you five minutes” Jack responded and proceeded to a corner to sit.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“But---” the woman who stopped twirling as soon as she heard that began to form tears on her eyes. “You know I’ve been preparing for this the entire week, right?!” she exclaimed in between her sobs. The other twin just looked at her for a few seconds and finally muttered “10 minutes then. No more. No less” Diane nodded with a huge smile, wiped her tears and finally approached Dino and Reborn.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Well, that was some drama right there. Just 10 minutes, huh? You’re that confident, aren’t you?” Dino stated. He then shifted his attention to the other twin that was now sleeping like a log. “Your twin’s not going to help you with this performance of yours?” </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Sorry, my brother’s a bit tired. He needs his beauty sleep” Diane replied as she stretched her hands up into the air. Suddenly something came flying at her with incredible speed. Her then stretched hands bended towards her back and caught what seemed like knives. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“I heard that” Jack stated and immediately went back to sleep. The other twin laughed nervously “That was dangerous brother, one second late and I’ll be dancing with blood dripping here and there” Noticing the stares in front of her, she immediately stated that she have something to offer to them. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Sun arcobaleno, I want you to rate my performance. Then, we’ll give you information regarding these two” she called out as she swiftly threw the knives she recently gained from her brother. It landed on the wall, only a few inches away from Reborn. The arcobaleno looked at the familiar pictures that the knives conveniently held in place.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Do you know who these two are?” Reborn asked.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Of course. They’re one of my cute little cousins” Diane replied with a smile. “Your answer?” she continued. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Okay. But one condition, my past student will handle you” the arcobaleno replied as he looked at the bucking bronco. Dino nodded and asked him to take care of his subordinates.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Don’t worry. He was supposed to be my partner for this performance after all” she grinned. ‘My timer shall start now’ she thought to herself as she rummaged her back pouch.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>Dino charged at her with his whip. He relentlessly moved his arms in such speed that enabled him to stop her movements. It already occurred to him that she was agile, with this move, he will just have to wait for an opening and then strike her.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Oh. So this is what it feels like to be on the receiving end” she stared at him. “You’re doing quite well, but…” Diane waved both of her hands and as she did, his whip was continuously rebounded rendering his attack useless. The woman then started to move. As she approached him, Dino finally caught sight of her weapon. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Yes, I am using fans. Elegant, right? These beauties were made by none other than my brother” she stated and as she reached a fair distance from him, she stopped. “Let’s dance, shall we?” she called out and immediately gushes of wind were thrown towards her opponent. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>Reborn watched as Diane nearly landed a fatal blow on his past student. ‘It really is a performance’ he thought to himself as he continued observing her fighting style. Her white dress seemed to billow along with her every movement, her green leather jacket accentuating the fan’s cryptic design and the sound her black boots was making seemed to complement the clanks heard every now and then from the clash of the weapons. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“What happened here?!” a voice called out. Reborn’s attention was then directed to the newcomer who upon entering, immediately ran towards Romario who was barely conscious at the time.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Miss… you shouldn’t be… here” the man talked with difficulty while staring at two emerald eyes that was evidently laced with worry. The arcobaleno approached the silver haired woman who greeted and introduced herself as Jane. After knowing what happened, her gaze shifted from the ongoing battle two feet away from her to the sleeping man in the corner.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>She approached the man and patted him on the shoulder. “Wakey wakey, sleepyhead. I want to know what’s the name of the poison you released a while back” she stated and as soon as she did talk, Jack woke up, stared at her and quickly backed away.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Awww. Don’t be afraid. I just want to know what the poison was” she stated again, this time with her widest grin. The man stood up and ran to the farthest corner of the room.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Uhh, Diane? We have a problem here” he called out to his twin who shouted that she was busy and that her 10 minutes wasn’t up yet. ‘You performance geek’ Jack muttered in his breath as he stared at the woman slowly approaching him.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>The bucking bronco took a side glance and was shocked to identify a familiar face near the other twin. “Jane! Why are you here?” he asked.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>The woman did not reply but instead came lunging at Jack. “Uhh, w-woman, I’m really not the fighting type of a person so, can we just talk about this?” he offered while managing to dodge her attacks.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“You’re not the fighting type but---” she quickly jumped and swiftly executed a back kick that threw him off to were he was previously sleeping. “--you defend quite well. Quite the reflex we have for someone who’s not into fighting” she continued as she nimbly made her way to him. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>Jack then took out something from his pocket at the last second and greeted her opponent’s arm with a weapon. “Oh, a tonfa” she stated in a straight tone. “Though I don’t think that’s how you’re supposed to use it” she then continued as she continuously defended herself from the man who conveniently uses the weapon as a kendo sword. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Brother, are you being serious right now?” Diane called out only to be greeted by his brother telling her that it was her fault. The two pairs continued battling for what seemed to be an eternity until Jane successfully obtained the bottle of poison from Jack’s coat. She backed away from him, quickly opened the bottle and inhaled some of the gas. She quickly put the lid back to the bottle and passed it to the man who just screamed ‘No’ at her the moment she took it. “That’s an interesting crest you have there. We need to talk after all of this is settled” she silently muttered while pointing at a violet embroidered ivy on his gray polo shirt. Jack quickly closed his overcoat to hide it. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>Diane who eventually stopped fighting with the bucking bronco after hearing her brother shout immediately went to his side. “Hey, brother, you alright?” she asked with concern. Jack just nodded and silently muttered “I think we need to stop now” to which his twin then agreed.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>Jane then approached the bucking bronco who was looking at her with worry. She then gestured to give her his hand to which he complied. He was handed a piece of paper. “That should be the antidote. Have my family deliver it to you right now” she explained. She then turned her back about to walk and exit the room when she suddenly lost her balance and found herself falling backwards. Dino immediately caught her who explained in between ragged breaths that they have until morning to cure those who were poisoned before passing out. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>‘She’s burning up’ he thought to himself with creased brows as he placed his hand over her forehead. He then carried her to one of the sofas in the room and turned to the twins while demanding them the antidote.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>Both Diane and Jack kept quiet but proceeded to place a briefcase that they hid in the room before the battle and a clear vial on top of the table. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“We’re sorry. We did not mean any harm. That’s the antidote and… the information we promised you.” Diane responded. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“You better take her to the hospital though since her case won’t be solved by a mere antidote” Jack stated. “Oh, sorry, you already knew that” he then continued as he smiled apologetically. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>The twins then headed to the broken glass window and was about to jump off the building when Reborn called out to Diane. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“An A+” the sun arcobaleno replied as he watched a faint smile appear on the woman’s face. After which, they immediately disappeared.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>Dino who immediately used the vial on his subordinates sighed in relief as they became conscious again. He passed the vial to a subordinate to cure those who were poisoned. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>Romario who was one of those who recovered, was then asked by him to prepare a car right away as he shifted her gaze to the silver-haired woman. He then looked at the broken glass window and wondered what their connection to her is, that they even knew she was immune to poison. His train of thought was then broken when Romario called that the car’s ready and so as the hospital. He then asked Reborn to take care of the briefcase for the meantime and immediately ran out of the room with Jane at hand. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>‘I have been meeting a lot of interesting kids lately’ Reborn thought to himself with a grin. ‘They’re perfect as sparring partners for Tsuna’ he continued as he watched the doors to the elevator open. He then made his way to a suite, rang the doorbell and after a while was allowed to let himself in.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Reborn how did you find me here? I was supposed to surprise you and Tsuna tomorrow” an old man greeted.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Sorry bothering you this late, Ninth. Actually, I did not know you’re here” the sun arcobaleno replied as he placed the briefcase on top of the glass table in front of him. “This note did” he pointed out at the small golden metal plate with engravings on it. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>Timoteo’s smile vanished and asked Reborn what this briefcase is to which he replied he didn’t really know. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“All that I know is that it contains documents. I’ve already scanned the case and can ensure its safe. The only problem is, I can’t open it” he explained further. “Unless, we inject your flames in this emblem” he continued.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Inject it?” the old man asked as he ran through his fingers along the Vongola crest that was engraved on both sides of the case. The arcobaleno nodded and TImoteo followed suit, he lighted his flame and hovered on top of the crest on one side and to the other. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>After a while, the case did open revealing piles of documents that was organized into several folders. Reborn took one out, opened it and read the title of the document out loud: “The Vlad Resistance” He then locked eyes with the Ninth and immediately, the old man commanded some of his guardians that were on the room to leave them.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>xxx</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>In the living room of the Sawada residence, three guardians were still waiting for their boss to come out of his room. The sun guardian was busy doing push-ups to kill time, the storm guardian was busy pacing back and forth while the rain guardian just sat there watching the both of them.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Calm down, Gokudera” Yamamoto called out which eventually stopped the guy from his pacing. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“That damn Irie. How about we go and capture him? Then, we beat the information out of him” he offered only to be answered by the rain guardian’s forced smile.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Sawada said to give him time. Then, we ought to give him time” Ryohei then replied, still doing push-ups.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Though its been hours already and Tsuna hasn’t eaten anything yet. His lunch has yet to be touched” the rain guardian pointed out as he stared at the door of the living room. The storm guardian who continued his pacing while scratching his head then stopped.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Let’s check out on the boss. He won’t take it out on us if we somehow ended up disturbing him. We’ll just apologize after” he stated and immediately went out of the room. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>The other two guardians nodded and followed suit. When they reached the door to Tsuna’s room, Gokudera knocked and called out to him. After a while, they heard rummaging noises and finally a click coming from the door. The storm guardian smiled with relief on his face and opened the door. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Sawada, you need to eat!” the sun guardian immediately exclaimed while carrying the tray of food that was reheated again. He was about to approach Tsuna who has yet to greet them when he suddenly exclaimed. “What are these?” he asked as he backed away after losing his balance from stopping himself not to walk on the piles of paper lined up on the floor. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>The other two guardians followed his line of sight and true enough, 9 sheets of paper were lined out in front of them. Not only that but there are also sheets of paper stacked on the table in front of Tsuna.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>The storm guardian shifted his gaze from the sheets in front of them to the unmoving figure of his boss who had his head down. He then picked a sheet up and skimmed through the contents when his eyes landed on a certain detail that said “Neo-Vongola Secondo’s Rain Guardian”. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>He then looked up to the name and stared hard at the picture of the profile. “This kid seems familiar” he muttered silently as he tried to recall where did he meet him. “Ah! The boy before!” he then exclaimed unanimously with the sun guardian who was also holding one of the sheets.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>The rain guardian who also picked a random sheet, read its contents and thought to himself, ‘When did Gokudera became a father?’ He was about to ask this to the storm guardian when Tsuna finally spoke. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Sorry about that, Gokudera, Yamamoto, Onii-san. I was just preoccupied with… things” Tsuna explained as he kept his fists curled below the table for them not to see. He then noticed that each of them have a profile on hand. He smiled weakly and asked them to sit. When all of them was settled in, he then explained what happened during Irie’s visit.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“And so… we’ll be needing to take care of the members of the family that turned out to be our… kids” he finished rather awkwardly. The room became silent as he watched his guardian’s faces with no expressions, as if they did not hear him at all. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Uhh, are you guys o---” Tsuna called out only to be drowned out by two different screams.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“I have a son!” his sun guardian exclaimed enthusiastically while his storm guardian did the same but his face painted horror and confusion. His rain guardian just sat there while staring at the profile of his son. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Ah, that’s right, Boss. This kid here was the one we met before when the bazooka malfunctioned. I was able to touch him and found black wax on my hand. That would explain the same hair color like baseball freak here” the storm guardian immediately explained only to be greeted by the rain guardian’s apologetic smile. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“I apologize for what he did, Gokudera” Yamamoto stated much to the storm guardian’s annoyance. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Why are you acting like you’re his father?!” he shouted in response. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Because he <em>is</em> this kid’s father, Octopus-head!” Ryohei butted in while shoving the sheet in the storm guardian’s face. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“I know that, Turf-top. But we aren’t their fathers, their<em> real</em> fathers are in the future” the storm guardian replied as he grabbed the profile in front of him. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“That did not make any sense at all, Gokudera” the rain guardian called out only to add fuel to the then annoyed storm guardian who then started lecturing regarding time travel personas. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>Tsuna watched all of this and laughed. His guardians looked at him and they secretly sighed in relief to seeing their boss back to his usual state because ever since they came to his room, he was visibly troubled. Tsuna then took a deep breath and faced his guardians with a hard look on his face.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Can I ask you guys to gather later at 8 in the forest? It would be better if all of the guardians were present” he stated while earning a nod from the three of them. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Where in the forest, Boss?” Gokudera asked while mentally noting that they weren’t any Vongola related events today since the whole family was busy preparing for the inheritance ceremony.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Our base should still be on the same place. Irie-san, Spanner and Gianinni-san are already there” Tsuna revealed. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>His guardians then became silent and eventually, the storm guardian jumped up and exclaimed that he was incredible. Tsuna then swayed his head in disagreement and clarified that his older self relayed to him that it was supposed to be Ninth’s gift when he assumes the position as the Neo-Vongola Primo, which earned him an even more excited Gokudera while Ryohei and Yamamoto praised him as well. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>Tsuna was embarrassed from all of their praises that he proceeded to fix the sheets and placed it inside an envelope. He then looked at his window and noticed that the sun was already setting. “Then, I’ll see you there” he replied as he entered hyperdeath mode.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“Tsuna, where are you going?” Yamamoto asked.</span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>“I need to meet the Ninth. I’ll be back before the meeting” he replied and quickly flew out of the room. </span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
  <span>The storm guardian nodded as he looked at the retreating back of his boss. He then turned his attention to the other two, about to designate their tasks when they voluntarily stated a guardian’s name and quickly ran out of the room. He tried calling them but they were already out of the house. With a somewhat light smile, he sighed and muttered “I’ll bring the stupid cow then”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>An earlier update again. I hope you liked this chapter. What are your thoughts on the story so far? Feel free to comment about it. Thanks for giving this a read~</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Delivery</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A starry sky greeted the rain guardian who was now heading back from Kokuyo Land. He looked at the long road in front of him illuminated here and there only by a few streetlights. “The future again, huh?” he muttered to himself as images of his dad’s assassination flashed in his mind. He quickly swayed his head and looked up. ‘Don’t worry. He should be enjoying being a grandpa now. There must be some kind of emergency for those kids to stay with us. Our future selves will resolve the problem in no time’ he encouraged himself and continued walking in a faster pace.</p>
<p>He then recalled the profiles he saw a while back. He noted that the kids look exactly like his friends… well, almost exactly like his friends since some have different hair or eye color.</p>
<p>‘Wait, should we even call them kids? They’re almost the same age as us… Maybe Gokudera’s right about us not being their ‘fathers’’ he thought to himself as he paused in his tracks while a certain profile flashed in his face. “I’m afraid… I’m more of a kid than him” he chuckled as he continued his walk.   </p>
<p>After being lost again in his thoughts, he finally reached a familiar path in the forest. He continued treading the path according to his memory. Upon successfully reaching one of the hatches of the base, he placed his hand over the scanner and the hatch opened. “Talk about nostalgia” he muttered with a smile as he entered the place. He walked around and noticed small changes in it, as if it was now close to completion.</p>
<p>It then occurred to the rain guardian that he didn’t know exactly where the meeting will be held that he made his way to the control room hoping to find anyone. He entered the room only to be washed again by a whole wave of nostalgia, it was the same room they were conducting meetings together in the future with a whole bunch of screens in front of them that was manned by Gianinni. He searched the room for the said man but did not find anyone. As he was about to leave the room, he was suddenly pulled back. He turned around only to find mini-Moska tugging his pants.</p>
<p>“I’m guessing you’re here to tell me where I should go?” he asked as he patted the moska’s head. Upon hearing that, mini-Moska’s head revolved as if agreeing to what he said and proceeded to hand him a note that said B20. He thanked the little thing again and was about to ride in the elevator when he heard someone bickering.</p>
<p>“I already told you I’ll bring him back myself” a familiar voice shouted.</p>
<p>“And I already told you I’ll bring Lambo-chan back myself. He’ll be staying with me for the night” an also familiar voice equally shouted.</p>
<p>Yamamoto looked at the two only to be greeted by a running kid wearing cow-printed clothes.</p>
<p>“Eyy, Yamamoto, play with me” Lambo requested while pulling at his pants. “They kept on arguing and won’t even let me play with them” he continued as he pointed at the newcomers.</p>
<p>“Oh no, sorry Lambo-chan. I just have to make myself clear to this stubborn guy here” the black-haired girl responded while glaring at the storm guardian beside her.</p>
<p>“You stupid woman who can’t comprehend instructions” he muttered with annoyance, loud enough for them to hear.</p>
<p>“Once again, who are you calling stupid, Gokudera-san?” the girl responded with fists curled up in front of her. She took a deep breath and stared at the storm guardian. She slowly made her way to him and with only a few inches in between, she looked up and motioned him to come close. The storm guardian still sporting an annoyed look stared at the girl in front of him. He rolled his eyes and was about to walk away when he was suddenly pulled back by the hand which made him lose his balance, successfully placing him at the same height with the girl.</p>
<p>“The next time you call me stupid again, I’ll tell Tsuna-san what happened that day. Surely you don’t want to lose face, wouldn’t you? <em>Mr. Right-hand man</em>?” Haru whispered as she stressed the last few words. She let go of his hand and directed her gaze to the two people who were just staring at them.</p>
<p>“Come now, Lambo-chan. I’ll fix you up with a snack before your meeting” she stated with a smile to which Lambo heartily agreed. “I’ll be preparing some for you guys too” she continued as she looked at the rain guardian.  </p>
<p>“I’ll… be there in a second” the rain guardian responded while mentally noting that she was actually looking at his friend behind him for a while now. The young lightning guardian also thought of this that he called out to the girl for a few times.</p>
<p>“Hahi. Sorry Lambo-chan. Let’s go?” she replied and followed the kid who was about to turn the corner.</p>
<p>The rain guardian then looked at the storm guardian who has yet to utter a word. He approached and patted him to call his attention only to be greeted by his friend’s beet red face.</p>
<p>“O-oi. You okay, Gokudera?” he called out while noting that his friend’s expression was close to that of an embarrassed child about to burst his tears out. The storm guardian couldn’t hold it in that he shouted curses non-stop while trying his hardest not to slip ‘stupid woman’ in between. Yamamoto just stared at the guy in front of him, amused at his behavior.</p>
<p>“You sure do get along” he muttered.</p>
<p>“What was that?!” Gokudera shouted as he turned his glare to the rain guardian. He was then greeted by a piece of paper right at his face.</p>
<p>“Our meeting will be held in here. I’ll go and fetch Lambo from the kitchen” he replied as he ran.</p>
<p>“Ah, wait. Where’s Mukuro?” Gokudera immediately asked.</p>
<p>“Instructions will be sent later” Yamamoto replied as he turned the corner. The storm guardian was confused but eventually made his way to the elevator.</p>
<p>xxx</p>
<p>It was a bit late into the night when a violet-haired girl reached the Vongola Base. She quickly pressed B20 on the elevator and in a matter of seconds, she found herself walking along the hallway that was furnished too different than the other rooms, it was as if stepping inside a mansion.</p>
<p>The floor seemed to be made out of marble and landscape paintings generously decorate the walls. She stared at the sight in front of her in awe while making her way to the farthest end of the hallway. Along the way she noticed doors with Italian inscriptions that says sun, thunder, rain, storm… she then realized that it was all the flames of the sky and… one flame of the earth. After walking for a while, she stopped. She can’t help but notice faint flames from the inscriptions that she made her way to the nearest door to inspect it. The girl looked at the door inscribed with ‘sky’. She squinted her eyes and stared at it for a few minutes, only to realize that there weren’t flames on it after all.</p>
<p>She then remembered that she was there for an important business that she immediately walked towards the wall of the hallway. She placed her hand on it and muttered “It really is hidden” She looked at her left and activated the Vongola gear she received a few hours ago in her apartment. She was finally able to see the mounted panel and was about to enter a code when the mist flames surrounding the wall vanished and the metallic doors to the room opened.</p>
<p>“Chrome? What are you doing here?” a voice called out to her from below. She looked down only to see Lambo who has big lollipops in both hands. She smiled at the kid and was about to ask him if the meeting was already over only to be interrupted by the storm guardian who seemed to accompany Lambo out of the room.</p>
<p>The storm guardian looked at the newcomer and shifted his gaze to the rain guardian who was at the moment conversing with a man in a pompadour. He then looked again at the girl with creased brows after noticing that she was wearing the Vongola gear. “Is this about the instructions?” Gokudera asked. “Or are you here to fetch the stu-  tch, Haru and the annoying cow?” he then continued as he brought Lambo up in her face, hoping that he can come close in order to verify if the gear was an illusion or not. The kid however, made a fuss and ended up climbing unto Chrome’s shoulder.</p>
<p>The sun guardian who caught the two fighting from a side glance, approached them from the long glass table he was at. He can’t hear anything clearly from them, but it was obvious from their actions that they were fighting. He tried shouting at Gokudera but it seems that he can’t hear him and that he’s too immersed fighting with a seven year old child.</p>
<p>“This place is extremely huge” the sun guardian muttered to himself as he wandered his eyes at the room’s ceilings that seemed to be as high as the big five-star hotels they have in town. He then noted at how empty the place is and recalled what a certain blonde mechanic told them when they first stepped in: that only a long glass table and a few sets of computers was designed for it. Really, the place looked more like a training ground since only a third of the space was used as the ‘meeting room’.</p>
<p>He then turned his attention to the bickering guardians, planning to stop their fight by shouting at them as soon as he had reached a fair distance enough for him to be heard clearly. He was about to do it when he saw Gokudera grabbing a now unconscious Lambo away from Chrome. The sun guardian saw the panic in Gokudera’s face that he immediately ran towards him only to hear the storm guardian shout for him to stand back.</p>
<p>Tsuna, Yamamoto and the man with a pompadour were the only ones left on the glass table.  They were too immersed with their discussion that they did not know of the commotion that was brewing at their doorstep, literally.</p>
<p>“Thank you, Vice Chairman for coming in Hibari-san’s stead” Tsuna stated with a smile. ‘If I actually knew how big this ‘room’ really is then I should’ve asked Onii-san to force Hibari-san to attend’ he thought to himself.</p>
<p>The man with pompadour looked at <em>the</em> Vongola Decimo, the one who will eventually become Neo-Vongola Primo. He can’t help but still be shocked at the idea that this boy is going to succeed the strongest mafia family. “You can just call me Kusakabe, just like how you address me in the future” he replied with a smile… which eventually turned into a frown.</p>
<p>“I just need to know exactly how to relay this information to the President” he muttered in his breath. He then looked at the profile displayed on his monitor. “He wouldn’t be too keen to know he has a son, would he?” he thought to himself as beads of sweat was starting to form on his forehead.</p>
<p>“I don’t think Hibari would go so far as to ask the little kid to battle with him, right?” Yamamoto asked. “Though he did battle with Reborn but he’s a different case” the rain guardian continued, exactly mirroring Tsuna’s thoughts. Tsuna then told Kusakabe to contact Dino to help him explain about the circumstances to which the man firmly agreed.</p>
<p>The rain guardian then finally noticed that both storm and sun guardians are still missing when they should’ve been back by now. He then squinted his eyes only to see them near the entrance of the room. “Why are they assuming a stance?” he muttered out loud that then caught the other two’s attention.</p>
<p>Tsuna diverted his gaze to the entrance and true enough, both Ryohei and Gokudera’s in their fighting stance. He can also see thick storm and sun flames that seemed to form a barrier a few feet near them.</p>
<p>“What is this?” Kusakabe asked while gearing himself for what may come at them.</p>
<p>“Don’t worry, Kusakabe-san. These are just their defensive barriers. Its just that…” Yamamoto looked past the barriers.</p>
<p>“Why would they put this up?” Tsuna asked as he then tried to break his way out from it and towards them which he did in just a matter of seconds in his hyperdeath mode. There he caught sight of Chrome who also looked at him. When he was about to land, he felt a change in her aura. He then glanced at Gokudera handing the unconscious thunder guardian to Ryohei. They both locked eyes and he was certain that they were shouting something at him but can’t hear them.</p>
<p>“Sorry for the late delivery, aunt was too distracted from leaving her apartment to reaching the base and this room” a voice echoed in his head.</p>
<p>“Who?” Tsuna asked as he looked in his surroundings, but no one was there with him. When he was about to look at the people near the entrance, someone tapped his shoulder. “Chrome?! Wait… You’re not…” he remarked, confusion evident in his face.</p>
<p>“Oh. So you were lying to me back then. You can sense me after all” the girl replied with a smile as she recalled herself disguising to be one of the Primo’s guardians to attend on one of their meetings in the future. ‘I guess Secondo also knew about my plan after all’ she thought to herself as she proceeded to look at the boy in front of him who seemed to have realized something.</p>
<p>“You’re Irie-san’s apprentice?” Tsuna asked as he observed the girl’s eyes turn pitch black. Suddenly, black flames billowed out from her very eyes. It was as if she was crying black tears.</p>
<p>‘The flame of the night?!’ Tsuna thought to himself as he immediately hovered away from the girl. As he was doing so, he shouted at his guardians to escape but then realized that the room has been suspiciously quiet for a while.</p>
<p>He hovered his way immediately to where the sun guardian is, only to see him not moving. He then tried to elicit some kind of reaction from the nearby storm guardian but failed to do so. He then heard the girl groaning and it was just when he looked again at her that he realized a large cylindrical equipment appear below her and a familiar round white device on the farthest end of the room.</p>
<p>“Ugh. I’m never<em> ever</em> going to do that again. Not even when he pleads” the girl muttered out loud as she slowly hovered down. “Don’t worry, I only slowed down time to bring these ‘beauties’ here” she continued as she brought out a box, and from it, pure thunder flames came out. The flames rushed directly at the equipment and was seemingly absorbed by it. Suddenly, a hologram of the Bovino family’s crest appeared in the middle of the room and then it rotated.</p>
<p>‘Flashy. As expected of Senpai’ the girl rolled her eyes at the big crest in front of her. She then turned again to Tsuna, smiled and stated “The girl who will be appearing is Irie-san’s apprentice”</p>
<p>She then showed a questioning look on her face and slowly approached the boy who in response backed away. “You should’ve seen the profiles already, right? Why would you… Ah! Those were the profiles two years ago, no wonder you didn’t know. Sylvia Onee-san did recently acquire her apprenticeship” she explained. “Though I wouldn’t be too surprised if it was revoked from her in just a few months” she then muttered. </p>
<p>“That flame, I know he said he wasn’t sure of it, but were you the one who talked to Yamamoto when he visited Kokuyo Land? Why would the Vindice be there? Are you planning to take Mukuro back?” Tsuna asked without skipping a beat.</p>
<p>“First, yes I talked to the rain guardian and good job for him noticing my faint flame at the time. Second, I may be, in a way, in league with the Vindice but, we’re not allowed to handle matters of the past so, the answer to your third question is a ‘No’” she quickly replied. ‘On that note, when will this damn thing stop rotating?’ she thought to herself as she took a side glance to the big crest still hovering in the room.</p>
<p>“Then why are you here then?” Tsuna asked in reply.</p>
<p>The girl then stared at the boy, as if gauging his reaction. She then smiled sincerely. “Cause I’m a genuine family member of the Vongola”</p>
<p>Tsuna felt his tense muscles relax after hearing her reply. He did initially think that the girl was an ally but, something about her feels a little off, that’s why he had his suspicions. He then observed the girl who still have her pitch-black eyes, shouting at the hologram while still in Chrome’s body. It was a rare sight to witness. He then heard static and the hologram began to change and take form into what seemed a human. After a few moments, it then revealed, according to the profiles they saw, Secondo’s lightning guardian, Sylvia who was… loudly snoring.</p>
<p>The girl also witnessed her Senpai sleeping soundly on what seemed like a bed of papers and boxes. She pinched the bridge of her nose and took a deep breath. “Yep, I’m calling it. Her apprenticeship will be finished even before she steps in the past” she muttered as she placed her hand a few inches at the hologram and with a smile, lighted her flame that immediately devoured the image.</p>
<p>“Primo, remember this well. They will come tomorrow without further delay. You were already warned by your future self that your child may come up with a way to bypass the system so that he may be the only one who will remember the incidents that happened, but don’t underestimate his guardians. They too may find a way to bypass the system. I am telling you this so as not to let them do unnecessary actions behind your backs” she paused as she observed the boy’s pained expression.</p>
<p>“It seems that your guardians still don’t know of these incidents so, I will be taking my leave now” she continued as she made her way to the thunder guardian. “I know you don’t want the young thunder guardian to hear it so I’ll be taking him to Aunt Haru myself and accompany them with this body back to their home” she further stated as she waved her hand.</p>
<p>She then stopped on her tracks “Ah, one last thing. Your informant knows where Mukuro is.” She then kept her silence for a while before continuing. “Your mist guardian has the lead”</p>
<p>Tsuna was shocked after what he heard that he just stared at the retreating back of the girl.</p>
<p>The metallic doors closed. The girl then walked the hallway while carrying the thunder guardian that she initially put to sleep. She then made her way to the elevator.</p>
<p>“Haru-chan?” she called out to the black-haired girl before her.</p>
<p>“Hahi. What was I trying to do?” Haru muttered, confused. She then saw Chrome coming out of the elevator with a sleeping Lambo and immediately went to them. She was about to take the kid when she noticed how red her friend’s eyes were.</p>
<p>“Chrome-chan, are you okay?! You’re… you’re crying!” Haru immediately held her hand.</p>
<p>The girl bowed down and didn’t respond for a good while. “Ah… I’m just afraid… I’ll lose everything” she then muttered silently.</p>
<p>“Chrome-chan?” Haru called out again, still awaiting for her response. The girl looked at her and showed her a tired smile. She then lifted her hand up and placed her index finger on the other girl’s forehead.</p>
<p>‘Forget’ she muttered as a small flame radiated from her finger. The black-haired girl saw the flame envelop her vision that she blinked her eyes and ended up just staring at her.</p>
<p>“Haru-chan, let’s go. We’ll be missing movie night with Kyoko-chan and I-pin-chan!” she exclaimed which made the other girl regain her senses. The two then exited the base.</p>
<p>As they were about to turn the corner, the girl glanced at the direction from where they came from. “Please don’t forget, Uncle. I’m a genuine… family member of the Vongola” she whispered with a solemn expression.  </p>
<p>
  
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hello! I'll be updating every weekend now~<br/>I hope you enjoyed this week's chapter. Ah, and feel free to drop by and leave your thoughts regarding the story so far.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Discussions</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>At the Sawada Residence a few hours after Tsuna left to reach the Ninth, four people were seated at the dining table. Lambo and I-pin were eating their Salisbury steaks with gusto, as if not sensing the atmosphere that was brewing in the room. A few moments later, the kids acknowledged a newcomer.</p>
<p>Bianchi smiled at the kids who called out to her. She had recently come back from the hospital due to an emergency involving her best friend. She was too preoccupied with the incident that she did not even knew she was starving until her mouth watered after smelling the food on the table. Her train of thought was broken however when she felt something was off. She shifted her gaze to the other two occupants in the room.</p>
<p>“Mama, I’m home. Sorry I’m late” she called out to the brown-haired woman who was seemingly immersed with her dish. The Poison Scorpion then patted her on the shoulder to call her attention.</p>
<p>“Oh, Bianchi-chan! Sorry I did not notice you come in” she replied with an apologetic smile and immediately rose to serve her some steak. Bianchi watched her back that was turned from them and shifted her gaze to the blond-haired man at the other end of the table whose steak has yet to be eaten. It was as if he was staring at Mama ever since they started eating dinner. Bianchi then heaved a sigh and immediately lifted the two kids on each of her side.</p>
<p>“Sorry Mama. I forgot that we are having a sleepover at Haru’s place today” she immediately explained which earned confuse grunts from the kids. “We’re running late so we’ll be going now” she continued and dashed to the main door and out of the house.</p>
<p>“Are we really going to Haru’s place?” Lambo asked excitedly.  </p>
<p>“Will Chrome be there too?” I-pin asked with equal excitement.</p>
<p>Bianchi just nodded at the two as she walked towards the Miura household. She needed to apologize to Haru for this unannounced visit, much more that she made the kids think that they’re going to have a sleepover.</p>
<p>After a good while, she then realized that the two kids who was now walking beside her were silent. “What’s wrong?” she then asked as she watched the two stop on their tracks, both looking down. Bianchi sighed and kneeled in front of them.</p>
<p>“You guys will eat lots and lots of food at Haru’s place, don’t worry” she stated, mentally noting that she really owed Haru this time. Lambo and I-pin did not budge nor showed any reaction to what she said that she eventually gave up. She stood up and was about to reach out to carry them, only to end up stopping midway. She noticed their shoulders heaving up and down that she immediately kneeled down facing them both.</p>
<p>“Oi. Lambo, I-pin, what’s wrong?” she asked them as she tried to pry their hands away from their faces. She then heard the lightning guardian mumble something incoherently. “What did you say?” Bianchi asked, growing more and more worried at them since their moods switched too fast.</p>
<p>“Mama was crying! She was crying in her room…” he then shouted while revealing his tear-stained (and snot-filled) face.  </p>
<p>“I saw her burn a lot of patties when we were preparing dinner” the Chinese girl added, also finally revealing her face as she tried wiping her tears that kept falling.</p>
<p>“We did not cry in front of her. We were holding it in. But… but” Lambo stated then cried loudly again.</p>
<p>“We can’t hold it in anymore” I-pin explained further while sniffing in between words, her tears wildly flowing again.</p>
<p>The Poison Scorpion looked at the two kids who was crying in front of her and patted both their heads. “You did great. It’s okay, you can cry all you want” she remarked which made the both of them cry harder. ‘It did not occur to me that they were pretending to eat heartily a while back. These two really are something’ she thought to herself while now patting both of their backs.</p>
<p>“Bianchi-san? Lambo-chan and I-Pin-chan?” a familiar voice called out to them.</p>
<p>“What’s wrong?” another familiar voice asked.</p>
<p>Lambo and I-pin immediately and sloppily wiped the snot and tears on their faces as soon as they heard the voices. They then looked up to the three girls who are now in front of them and asked them immediately about the sleepover.</p>
<p>“Sleep…over?” Chrome asked out loud as she looked at the kids worriedly. The three girls looked at each other and immediately, the girl with the golden-brown hair proceeded to collect the bags the other two was initially carrying. Haru locked eyes with Bianchi and after a while she immediately scooped the two kids up and enthusiastically agreed to them. Chrome also followed suit and entertained the kids without further asking why they were obviously crying.</p>
<p>Bianchi watched the scene unfold, much to her relief. She then approached the girl that was now holding a pile of groceries.</p>
<p>“Kyoko? What’s with that?” Bianchi asked while immediately lending her a hand.</p>
<p>“Thank you, Bianchi-san” Kyoko replied with a smile. “The three of us bumped into Mrs. Sawada this afternoon and she accompanied us at our favorite cake shop together with these” she continued as she pointed at the bags. Kyoko then shifted her gaze at Lambo and I-pin who are now playing with Haru and Chrome in the street.</p>
<p>“She said Tsuna’s dad will come home and that she’ll prepare a feast but then…” she then looked at Bianchi “she left us saying she needed to buy more… but her expression at the time, it was as if she was close to crying” she continued slowly.</p>
<p>“We were on our way to give this to her… but I guess, we came at a bad time?” she asked. “I-pin-chan and Lambo-chan too, something may have happened for them to cry like that” she continued as she handed the remaining grocery bags to Bianchi. The woman smiled at her and replied, “I understand”</p>
<p>As she was about to reach out for the bags, she recalled the scene at the dining table. She remembered Iemitsu’s face that was confused and is close to crying. “Mama would never treat him that way. Unless…” she immediately looked up, realization hitting her and quickly ran back to the Sawada household, leaving the remaining bags with Kyoko.</p>
<p>The girl watched the retreating back of the woman and did not bother calling her back. “Sorry… Tsuna-kun” she muttered silently. She then took a deep breath and immediately turned her attention to the kids. “Shall we go then?” she asked to which the kids agreed enthusiastically.</p>
<p>Bianchi was not too far from the house that she reached it in a matter of seconds. As she was about to enter the gate, she immediately stopped as she stared at the baby in a suit that was just standing at the doorstep.  </p>
<p>‘Reborn…’ she called out to him in her thoughts. The baby then turned around, as if he heard her clearly. She then smiled and approached the hitman. “I will also apologize and explain the circumstances to her. I’ll support you” she stated as she picked him up with her free hand.</p>
<p>Reborn then smiled and touched her hand. “Thank you” he replied as the both of them entered the house.</p>
<p>xxx</p>
<p>Back at the Vongola base, after the girl left the room, time started to flow normal again and the hologram that was engulfed with flames finally disappeared. The guardians together with Kusakabe who regained their senses immediately saw the two large equipment that now occupied the room. All showed confusion in their faces as if they were asking when it happened and how.</p>
<p>Tsuna who was still staring at the door’s direction were brought back to his senses when he heard his sun guardian panicking a few feet away from him. He was shouting about Lambo and that he’s missing.</p>
<p>The storm guardian then unanimously panicked as he recalled that they were being ambushed. He then was slightly relieved when he saw his boss running towards them, unscathed.</p>
<p>“Gokudera, Onii-san, are you guys okay?” Tsuna asked with a worried expression to which the guardians both nodded in reply. “Lambo’s safe, don’t worry” he briefly continued.</p>
<p>“Boss, what just happened?” Gokudera asked as he directed his gaze to the farthest end of the room. Tsuna understood what he wanted to ask and replied that it has something to do with the arrival of the future family members.</p>
<p>“Let’s start the second phase of our meeting, shall we?” He then asked with a tired smile as he started walking towards the table. Both Yamamoto and Kusakabe who were busily taking in the sight before them then directed their gaze to the three who were slowly approaching their location.</p>
<p>‘I guess we’ll start the second phase then’ Kusakabe thought to himself while noting that the to-be-Vongola boss seemed to be absorbed in his thoughts.</p>
<p>As soon as everybody was seated, Tsuna started talking.</p>
<p>“As I told you a while back, they will be transported here tomorrow with some of their memories wiped out. These memories have something to do with why they needed to be teleported.” Tsuna paused as he looked at his guardians before him.</p>
<p>“Honestly, I was thinking not to discuss with you the details regarding these incidents in the future so that your interactions with them won’t be affected in any way but, I received intel that not only Takuya but the others as well may bypass the system and be teleported with their memories intact” he explained.</p>
<p>“Basically, they found a way to trick Irie’s device?” Yamamoto asked to which Tsuna nodded.</p>
<p>“Boss, by receiving the intel, are you referring to the girl who possessed Chrome?” Gokudera asked.</p>
<p>“Yes. Apparently, she is also a family member and is… in some way aligned with the Vindice. She was the one who delivered these here” Tsuna replied as he pointed at the big devices near them.</p>
<p>“But, how can we be sure that she’s saying the truth?” Ryohei asked out loud only to receive a smack from the storm guardian who insisted that the boss accepted her as family and that’s enough verification as it is.</p>
<p>Tsuna slightly smiled and explained that he did think of her as an ally even when he noticed her using the flames of the night. “One reason to believing her too is that I remember Ryu and Hikari who came to visit our house. They both immediately disappeared, as if they weren’t supposed to be here yet. I thought that they may have disappeared because the letter from my future self has yet to arrive, but Irie-san’s future self stated that they weren’t allowed to get near to the device before the delivery. And this is the only device that they can use for time travel” he stated as if he was at the moment, piecing the events and details together.</p>
<p>“Then I guess we’ll be expecting kids who can’t follow instructions. Not that I am judging your parenting skills” Kusakabe remarked with a light smile as the guardians reacted shyly at his comment. Tsuna however only smiled and thought ‘I think I would also do the same given their circumstances’</p>
<p>“So, what are these incidents you’re talking about?” Ryohei then asked which made the atmosphere in the room tense.</p>
<p>“Mafia families are being assassinated one by one” Tsuna replied quietly but loud enough for them to hear. “Their attacks were sporadic for quite some time but lately, their number grew tremendously enough to overwhelm even some of the strongest mafia families…” he took a deep breath “even the Simon, Giglio Nero and Gesso families” he continued slowly.</p>
<p>The occupants in the room stayed silent. They then simultaneously realized that two of the kids that will be teleported here were the sole survivors of the said assassination.</p>
<p>“These past few years however, their assassination ceased but it turns out that they shifted their target. Several attempts were made to capture children that were connected to the Vongola. They were able to rescue each and every one of those who were captured but what happened to them was… inhumane” Tsuna then pressed a key on his keyboard.</p>
<p>An image of a rescue of a couple of children then appeared in their monitors with a caption that stated “<em>We found them to be perfectly fine, no physical nor internal wounds. But they can’t speak nor move their limbs. However, their pupils contract and dilate with response to light and after further examinations, we've confirmed that they are not brain dead, they can still understand us. After a few weeks however, a lot of them mysteriously died. The maximum period that the patients can last in this state is two months. We are still running tests and collecting information on some of the patients who are psychologically stable.”</em></p>
<p>Silence then filled the room as they proceeded to browse more pictures that documented the rescue operations.   </p>
<p>“Boss, the assassination of mafia families, that sounds just like--” the storm guardian reacted. “--what Mukuro wants to do before” Tsuna finished his sentence. The other then looked at Tsuna upon hearing their exchange. “But… I don’t think he was the one behind this” Tsuna continued. “In fact, he may even be confronting the one responsible for all of this.”</p>
<p>“And yes, he is” a familiar voice stated that earned their attention.</p>
<p>“Dino-san!” Tsuna exclaimed. “I thought you won’t be able to make it? Where’s Reborn?” he then continued asking as he watched the Bucking Bronco find his way to an empty seat. “Yes sorry. The patient’s condition is stable now. Ah, and Reborn needed to attend into something important” he explained as he pressed something on his keyboard.</p>
<p>“Spanner told me they weren’t finished with redirecting the messages from the control room, so we need to manually connect it” he further explained. After a while, a video prompt appeared on all of their monitors that stated, “3 messages received”.</p>
<p>Dino looked at Tsuna who then nodded. He accepted the prompt and the video played revealing a familiar face.  </p>
<p>“Tsuna-nii. I did what you asked. The Giglio Nero and Gesso families are already aware of the circumstances. I showed the same files that you should’ve received via the Ninth. Ah, and Yuni-san said that you need to send the Simon and Varia to go to where Mukuro is at as soon as you receive this message” Futa reported. The video then turned to static and another message played.</p>
<p>“Tsuna I’m already with the Varia and we’re currently looking for leads about the resistance. We’ve narrowed down groups both from private to underground organizations that runs for the government and so far, none matches the report.” A red-haired boy reported.</p>
<p>“Voi! We’re 60% done with this. Just sit tight and wait. We’ll immediately contact your base after” a man with long white-hair shouted at the screen which then panned out to the other Simon family members conversing with Belphegor and Mammon in the background with some A-rank members of the Varia. The video then turned black after a large chunk of meat was hurdled into the screen and Squalo shouting ‘We still need the device!’ After a while, Enma appeared at the screen with a tired smile and bid Tsuna farewell. The feed then turned to static again and then revealed a yet another familiar face at least except for Kusakabe.  </p>
<p>“I didn’t expect that we’ll assist you this early on, Sawada Tsunayoshi. We found Rokudo Mokuro heading to an isolated area at the borders of Italy. We sent the coordinates to Varia as per your request” Silence then filled the room as the message logs ended. Yamamoto was the first one to break this silence when he noticed Tsuna’s confused look.</p>
<p>“Why did the Vindice say we needed to find Mukuro?” the rain guardian asked out loud. “Did you contact them, Tsuna?” he continued to which Tsuna did not immediately respond.</p>
<p>“I think… the girl arranged this herself?” Tsuna mumbled out loud.</p>
<p>“Who is this girl? Is this the same one that ambushed us at the hotel?” Dino asked which received questioning stares from the others.</p>
<p>“No, she was using the same flames with the Vindice. She must’ve told them I sent her” he then replied.</p>
<p>“Bermuda might’ve verified her identity in the future since it seems they have the means to time travel as well.” Gokudera then added after recalling that this girl who claimed to be in league with the Vindice was the one who delivered the only time traveling equipment to their time. Tsuna nodded in agreement.</p>
<p>“What did Enma mean by the resistance? And why is he with the Varia? And did he know about what happened in the future?” Ryohei asked without skipping a beat.</p>
<p>Tsuna then recalled what he did after receiving the letters from Irie. He told them that he asked Futa to explain to the Giglio Nero and Gesso Families regarding the future incidents. He also added that it was through Futa that he knew of a briefcase filled with files about the resistance that will be delivered to Ninth.</p>
<p>Dino then explained that the files call the group responsible for the assassination of the mafia families as the resistance. It was officially called the Vlad Resistance coming from the accounts of the survivors that the investigation team compiled. He then further added that these accounts were included in the files that are now stacked in the table.</p>
<p>Tsuna then further explained that the Simon family knows what happened to the future since they were the first ones he contacted after knowing of the assassination. He explained that it was Enma however who suggested to go and collaborate with Varia’s intelligence since their newly built headquarters in the mainland is the closest one to the Varia’s.</p>
<p>‘Oh right. The exchange students returned four months ago’ Kusakabe thought to himself. He then recalled one vital information that Enma shared. “What did he mean by matching the report?” he asked directing his gaze to Tsuna who then pressed a key on his keyboard.</p>
<p>“From the accounts of the survivors, the one that was said to be leading the resistance has a shaved head, brown skin and several stitches on his face” Dino explained as they looked at a sketch of the individual in their monitors.</p>
<p>While the others were absorbed looking at the sketch, Tsuna thought that he needed to contact Enma regarding the coordinates and immediately prompted a call to the Varia headquarters from his monitor. He was expecting to hear Squalo’s shout, but the call did not connect. He tried it again but to no avail.</p>
<p>Silence filled the room. Dino looked at Kusakabe and the guardians who proceeded to read the files that were now scattered on the table. His gaze then shifted to Tsuna who seemed to be busy doing something on his monitor.</p>
<p>Dino then approached him and relayed that whether the inheritance ceremony pushes through or not is entirely dependent on his hands. Tsuna paused from his tracks and looked up at the man.</p>
<p>“I didn’t think I’d say this but… I think its high time that I assume the position… to gain the power to protect my family” Tsuna replied firmly as he stared at the charm that he recently took out from his pocket.</p>
<p>The Bucking Bronco can’t help but smile widely at what Tsuna said in reply. “And I’ll support you along the way. We will” He patted his little brother’s head as he shifted his gaze to the other occupants in the room who are still busily reading the files.</p>
<p>Tsuna smiled. “Actually, Dino-san. I was thinking of visiting all the families allied to the Vongola and even those who were once allied to us. After I make sure that the future’s safe again, I want you to accompany me in doing so. Of course, with disguises” he stated shyly.</p>
<p>Dino looked a little bit surprised but then smiled. “I’ll be looking forward for it then” he replied as he bid his farewell telling Tsuna that he needed to check things up at the hospital. He then made his way out of the room and was greeted by Romario.</p>
<p>“Boss, how’s Sawada-san?” the middle-aged man asked as they walked the hallway.</p>
<p>“He’s more than ready to be Neo-Vongola Primo” Dino replied proudly as his subordinate noted that he really looked like a brother beaming with pride because of his sibling.</p>
<p>
  
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>The kids will now 'officially' make their appearance. Stay tuned to the next chapters~</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Of Wives and Mothers</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was dawn when two black haired women found themselves inside a dilapidated building located at the outskirts of Italy. They were just teleported there and were asked to wait for instructions.</p>
<p>"I don't think I'll say 'I would've expected much from my husband' in this scenario" the woman wearing business clothes remarked as she took in her environment.</p>
<p>The other woman laughed and replied, "I also don't think you would. He'd always make sure you're comfortable and safe. It's just that this time-"</p>
<p>"I need to hide?" the other woman cut her off only to get a slight smile from the other as response. "You knew that I know?" she continued.</p>
<p>"You're pretty much like my husband after all, Hana-nee" the woman in Chinese clothes replied.</p>
<p>"I don't think I see myself on the same page with your husband" Hana replied in a straight tone. "Ah, that reminds me, we saw each other two years ago during a business meeting, you were with him that time and you didn't tell me about you two!" she then continued while pointing her finger at her.</p>
<p>"I… don't think that was the time nor the place to tell you about us" the other woman replied in her defense.</p>
<p>"I'm confident enough to say that I am perceptive about relationships, but I didn't think about the two of you pairing up, much less working out" she muttered out loud for her to hear. "Ah! Not that I think badly of your age difference, it's just that it's him you know?" she continued only to pause and bow her head simultaneously. "I'm sorry, I-pin, no matter how I phrase it, it always turns out to him being the villain" she continued.</p>
<p>I-pin laughed heartily and replied "He's not that bad of a person" She walked to a corner of the building and sat down. "We agreed to keep our relationship a secret from the rest of the family considering the recent events that happened" she then continued with a sad smile.</p>
<p>Hana stopped pacing when she heard the last bit. She then looked at I-pin. "Kousei was not registered as a part of the Vongola, right? Why allow him to go to the past?" she asked with a serious tone.</p>
<p>I-pin lightly smiled "'I want to play with them' is what he simply told me" Hana waited for her to continue. "That boy, he wasn't shy like me nor preferred to be alone like his father. He can get along well with any of my master's students that came visiting us back at our mansion in China"</p>
<p>'An extrovert born from two introverts, I see' Hana thought to herself which made her laugh involuntarily. I-pin looked at her and Hana gestured for her to continue what she was saying.</p>
<p>"That day when I found out he sneaked into his father's private jet that was headed back in Italy, I was really worried" I-pin stated as she looked up at the windows of the building, now fully visible with the sun's rays.</p>
<p>Hana nodded after hearing her bring up what happened at the start of the year. She recalled returning from work that day, she saw her husband at their doorstep greeting a newcomer. Her sight then fell to a little boy who was holding unto what seemed like a chain that was connected to the newcomer's hand. She was intrigued since the man and her husband did not seem to notice the boy. She followed them towards their house and along the hallway while noting that the boy keeps on bobbing his head up and down. She called out to them and they stopped. When she finally saw the boy, who was actually fighting his hardest to keep himself from sleeping, she really lost it.</p>
<p>"I remembered reprimanding your husband for dragging a little boy around and my husband for letting him do it" Hana muttered shyly.</p>
<p>"Ah, that's okay Hana-nee. Kousei must have selected his father and uncles to hide his presence from" I-pin remarked as she recalled teleporting directly at the mansion and seeing a glaring Hana carrying a sleeping Kousei while the two men looked at her in confusion. She approached them and briefly greeted the Sasagawa couple. With an apologetic smile, she then approached her husband who was even more confused seeing her there. She tugged the hem of his suit which he then understood what it meant. He lowered his head and she whispered that Kousei had recently learned how to hide his presence from her master. Realization dawned on the man as he finally saw the sleeping boy.</p>
<p>"I can't believe I only found out about the two of you months after that incident!" Hana exclaimed cutting I-pin's train of thought.</p>
<p>The Chinese woman smiled. "I was really surprised when I saw you holding Kousei, Hana-nee. Lambo told me you always have hives whenever you visited him back when we were younger" she stated.</p>
<p>"And here I thought you're shy, why are you bringing this up now?" Hana replied trying to steer their conversation away from the topic.</p>
<p>"I guess my child's outgoing personality is rubbing on me after all. So?" I-pin quickly replied, fully aware at what the older woman was trying to do.</p>
<p>Hana just sighed. "Ever since I decided to marry Ryohei, I never once got hives when I'm with kids. I was just immature back then telling others I hated kids when… I myself is still a kid. My husband did a good job of pounding that in my stubborn brain. That was our first and only serious fight" she explained as she observed I-pin's face turn apologetic every second.</p>
<p>"Don't apologize! It was a memory that I really treasure. Without it, I wouldn't be the type of person I am now" Hana quickly stated. "But… it seems that this time, we will have another fight. I was patiently waiting for him to explain his job but now that Ryu, Kousei and all the other kids are involved, I can't help but be infuriated at how little I know of the matter" she continued.</p>
<p>"Little?" I-pin asked with evident confusion to which Hana smiled.</p>
<p>"True, I may be the owner of CEDEF's dummy company which allows me to know just about everything, even CEDEF's official transactions with other mafia-related companies. However, I keep it to a point where I only know the bare minimum. I wanted my husband to be the one to tell me his circumstances about him being a guardian" she replied as she leaned back to the wall.</p>
<p>"That reminds me, yesterday's game of hide and seek was too hard. I could've sworn Kangaryuu saw me hiding in the corner. That Basil, I told him to warn me beforehand!" she exclaimed with a fist up in the air.</p>
<p>"Ryu did tell me once that you're hiding the fact that you're a subordinate of the External Advisor of the Vongola from your husband" I-pin muttered to herself as she now understood why Basil's face was pale when he visited the Sasagawa mansion last night. "Hana-nee, you do realize that you're also hiding something from your husband, right?" she asked carefully.</p>
<p>"A classic equivalent exchange, right? A secret for a secret. I'm glad I watched one of Basil's anime collections or else I wouldn't have known how to deal with my secret when the time comes", Hana replied proudly which only gained a helpless smile from the younger woman.</p>
<p>"You should show this side of yours more to your employees. You've been called the Solitary Queen of the business world, you know" I-pin remarked which then stopped the older woman from smiling.</p>
<p>"No wonder you found me resembling your husband" Hana looked at her visibly hurt. I-pin then panicked and explained that she didn't see her that way but the way she cared for the family from afar was just like her husband and that's why she said she resembled him.</p>
<p>The older woman laughed heartily after watching her explain. "Ahh… I can hear my best friend reprimanding me for teasing you like this" Hana replied with a sad smile. "I'll be counting on you now, I-pin. I hope that by the time I wake up, these cards will have lost its value" she continued in a solemn tone as she stared at the case she was holding.</p>
<p>Silence filled the air for a while. I-pin then got up and asked with what seemed like a smirk, "Is that why you're wearing a suit?"</p>
<p>"You got me. I'll be needing more sources of income for the company now that these babies will have expired by then" she responded enthusiastically as she also got up. They then laughed at their exchange for a good while, only to be interrupted by a newcomer.</p>
<p>"Hello, sorry, I came in Shoichi's stead. There was some trouble back at the Bovino HQ" a blond-haired guy called out as he came out of the shadows.</p>
<p>"Trouble? Is this about the resistance? They attacked already?" I-pin asked, panic evident on both her and Hana's face.</p>
<p>"Ah, no. Not yet, anyway" the newcomer replied as he placed a blue box with CEDEF inscriptions on the ground. "Sylvia got into trouble for sneaking into the lab before the delivery of the equipment. Shoichi's currently checking the devices"</p>
<p>"But the delivery should have happened by now. Master needs to teleport on time or else-" I-pin replied as she approached the guy who had just finished setting up four other regular boxes in a rectangle, each box placed on every corner.</p>
<p>"Lambo-san already left for the Gokudera Residence. He said he got it covered while glaring so hard at Sylvia" he replied calmly and looked up at I-pin. "I think we'll be seeing thunder strike the Bovino HQ when he returns, you ought to calm him down" he stressed to which the Chinese woman nodded.</p>
<p>"Spanner-san, correct? I finally got the chance to meet you in person. Thank you again for accepting to make these back then" Hana approached the two while showing him the familiar small metal case. Spanner then looked at I-pin and back to Hana.</p>
<p>"Don't worry, she's an accomplice, just like my Boss, you and another person" Hana explained.</p>
<p>"I'm glad it's still selling after all this time" Spanner remarked.</p>
<p>"Yes, our other accomplice's the one responsible for that" Hana replied with a smile. "So... I only need to light my wedding ring and place it in here, right?" she continued as she approached the box placed at the center.</p>
<p>"Yes. Please inject your lighted ring to the box the moment those other four boxes open," Spanner explained. Hana then nodded and asked I-pin to approach her. She grabbed her hand and placed the small metal case on it. "You hold unto this. This may serve useful back in the past. Take care and… please hug them for me, okay?"</p>
<p>I-pin fought her tears from falling and just nodded. She watched Hana gave her one last reassuring smile as she stepped away from the area now covered by a barrier of pure mist flames coming from the other boxes. She saw her lighting her wedding ring, it was faint but with a gentle pulse, Hana's cloud flames entered the box. The moment the flame entered it, the woman disappeared, and the mist barrier slowly enclosed the CEDEF box.</p>
<p>"I'll be going now then. It's better to deliver this to the Gesso Lab during this hour" Spanner stated while picking the boxes up.</p>
<p>I-pin nodded and continued to stare at the CEDEF box with worry. Spanner noticed this and assured her that as long as one immediate Gesso family member is alive, regardless of time constraints, the enemies won't be able breach the lab to capture her and the others.</p>
<p>The woman then took a deep breath and with a firm look, she bid her goodbye to the mechanic.</p>
<p>Spanner slightly nodded in response. 'So she's the strongest martial artist, even surpassing the arcobaleno Fon' he thought to himself as she watched her teleport.</p>
<p>He then looked at the ceiling and closed his eyes as he became aware of his breathing. After a few deep inhales and exhales, he followed suit and teleported back to his home.</p>
<p>xxx xxx</p>
<p>A cloudy afternoon greeted a small child who was gearing himself to go out to their mansion's garden to play. He looked around making sure that no one sees him from going out. After confirming that no one's looking, he squatted down with his chubby legs. "We need to be very quiet, Natsu" he whispered to the sky lion that roared lightly in response.</p>
<p>The two was about to head out when they heard footsteps. 'Oh no. Dad's awake' the little boy thought to himself as he grabbed the sky lion and immediately hid behind the nearest sofa. True enough, he heard the footsteps getting louder. He then peeked a little and directed his gaze to the stairs where he was sure his father will appear.</p>
<p>The footsteps stopped. His little brows furrowed since he has yet to see the person in question.</p>
<p>"Who are you playing hide and seek from?" a voice called out to him. The little child froze and looked partly at the sky lion.</p>
<p>"Natsu, don't tell me' he—" The sky lion cut him off with a light roar in reply. He then raised his chubby arms up as he turned around.</p>
<p>"Okay, Dad. You caught me" he stated while looking at the brown-haired adult who was still yawning (and is still in his pajamas) while muttering a good morning to the sky lion that's now circling his feet.</p>
<p>Tsuna looked at the little guy with a helpless smile and sat down in front of him. He patted the little child's head while noticing that his brown hair seems to be behaving more and more like his, these past few months.</p>
<p>"You should be resting, Takuya" he stated to which the little boy muttered with an 'I know' as he looked down. Tsuna took one of his little hand.</p>
<p>"Once you're fully recovered, you can play together with Hinata and Takeru. You're Jack-nii and Diane-nee will be coming for a visit too next week" he explained while simultaneously curling his chubby little fingers one by one. Tsuna then let go of his hand only to be greeted by a confused expression from the little one.</p>
<p>"What about this?" Takuya asked as he brought his pinky up in his face. "You're not yet fully recovered but…" the man stated as he observed Takuya's eyes grow larger after every word.</p>
<p>Tsuna paused purposely for too long that the child started climbing on his back for him to continue. The man can't help but laugh at his son and eventually got up after securing him safely on his shoulders.</p>
<p>"You smell that?" he continued.</p>
<p>Takuya squealed in excitement after a few sniffs. "Caakkeee~" he excitedly shouted as he patted his dad's head lightly and commanded him to go to the kitchen right away.</p>
<p>Tsuna followed his command and made his way to the kitchen. They walked the hallway that was filled with Takuya's 'cake song' with Natsu jumping every now and then as he followed the two. The sky lion then ran towards the room where the sweet scent was coming from.</p>
<p>"Natsu? Where's Takuya? Is he awake?" a woman's voice called out.</p>
<p>"Mom!" the little child beamed with a wide smile as he reached his little hands out to her the moment the two arrived.</p>
<p>"Our little angel's awake" the woman replied enthusiastically as she let Tsuna place the child in her hands.</p>
<p>"Good morning" the woman mouthed to Tsuna to which he responded with a shy smile. He then bent down and placed a kiss on her forehead. "Sorry, I overslept. And to think I wasted half of my day off" he whispered.</p>
<p>The woman placed her free hand on his cheeks. "Don't worry. What matters is you're well rested" she replied with a smile. The two was then interrupted by the little child who was now tugging Tsuna's shirt.</p>
<p>"Mom, Dad, I want a kiss too" the little sky stated to which the other two complied. After getting his kiss on both cheeks, he then asked to be put down. With the sky lion at tow, he approached the oven but kept a safe distance from it, just like what his mom usually tells him to.</p>
<p>"Now, I want cake!" he muttered out, loud enough for the two adults to hear. The kitchen was then filled with his parent's laughter. He looked at the two and laughed heartily together with them.</p>
<p>"Pathetic" a voice suddenly called out in his head. Takuya shrugged the voice away and looked at his parents who was now talking with each other. He approached his mother who was preparing drinks at the time only to hear the voice again.</p>
<p>"How pathetic" the voice stated, disgust evident in the way it was spoken. Takuya then took a deep breath in response and was about to tug at her mother's pants when he noticed that they weren't talking anymore.</p>
<p>The little sky looked at his surroundings and found that everything was at a standstill. He then tried tugging at his father's pants, but he did not budge. Takuya then ran out of the kitchen and to the hallway. 'I have to call Grandpa' he thought to himself.</p>
<p>'You're not calling anyone. In fact, no one will answer' the voice echoed in his head again. The voice then multiplied in number and is now filling the entirety of the house with murmurs.</p>
<p>He covered his ears and hummed the lullaby his mother sings to him every night as an attempt to drown it all out. He continued running along the hallway, but he can't seem to reach the living room. He continued running and when he did reach the sala, he noticed that the sofa became smaller. In fact everything that he laid his eyes on was a lot smaller than he used to remember.</p>
<p>The murmurs began to increase horridly in volume. It was too loud for him that he sat down on the same spot he was with his father only a few moments ago. He burrowed his head in between his knees, his hands still covering his ears.</p>
<p>The murmurs increased even more in volume as time passed by.</p>
<p>The boy cried. After enduring the voices for a while, he cried. He was close to passing out when finally, the voices stopped.</p>
<p>"My little angel?" a gentle voice called out to him. He stopped crying and immediately looked up.</p>
<p>"Mom! I was so scared. Where did-" Takuya stated while sloppily wiping his tears on his face only to stop at the sight in front of him.</p>
<p>There was no one. His mom nor his dad wasn't around. He frantically called out for his parents only to hear the rain that was falling harder than ever. He then heard something break, it was distant but loud enough to be heard amidst the pouring rain.</p>
<p>He immediately ran to the direction he thought it came from when suddenly the entirety of his vision turned black. He looked around trying to find a source of light but to no avail. He took a deep breath, calming himself down. He then raised his index finger and concentrated. As he was about to light his flame however, he heard something break again, this time coming from behind him.</p>
<p>Takuya realized that the sound was nearing him and quickly assumed a stance. He lifted up his now lighted finger which was enough to let him see a few paces from where he was standing. He sensed movement near him and immediately looked at the direction.</p>
<p>From the shadows appeared a woman he was familiar with. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw his mother walking towards him with a smile.</p>
<p>"Mom, don't scare me like that" he stated while waiting for the woman to approach him. The woman did not reply however and continued to just smile warmly. The woman cupped his cheeks in her hands and called out his name. Takuya felt how unusually cold his mother's hands were that he panicked.</p>
<p>The woman calmed him down and reassured him that she's okay. The woman then hugged him.</p>
<p>"You're dreaming, my little angel. Wake up" she whispered.</p>
<p>Takuya was confused that he just shrugged what his mother was telling him to do. He hugged his mom tightly only to realize that she was slowly… disappearing?</p>
<p>"N-no, Mom, no! Don't leave" he called out desperately. He then looked around "Dad, where's dad? Dad! Save mom! Save her" he shouted as his tears fell again. His mother's smile was the last thing he saw before his vision became black again. His loss of vision did not stop him however from desperately calling and reaching out to his mom.</p>
<p>After a few moments, his vision returned, only this time, he found himself staring at the familiar ceiling of his bedroom.</p>
<p>Takuya sat himself up with difficulty as he touched his cheeks, tracing the path his tears have taken.</p>
<p>"I was saved… again" he muttered as he stared at his trembling hands. He then allowed himself to cry once more, his hands placed over his face attempting to hide his pain from the world.</p>
<p>
  
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hello! Just a heads up, few more suceeding chapters are set in the future just like this chapter. Hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it! Also, feel free to share your thoughts~</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Sawada Household</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Takuya was a bit light-headed after what seemed to be an endless downpour of emotions he stockpiled inside him. ‘Glad it all came out. It would be a problem if I behaved like this in the past’ he thought to himself as he took a few deep breaths. He leaned his back against the headboard while mentally noting that his eyes were sore from crying. He needed to wait for a while for the soreness to subside. It was only at this moment that he caught sight of a certain sky lion snuggled up to his side.</p>
<p>“You came out because of me again. Sorry Natsu” he silently muttered as he patted the sleeping sky lion’s head. Half an hour passed, and the young sky finally got up from his bed. He silently opened the door of his room and glanced at the hallway illuminated by the moon visible from the tall windows of the mansion.</p>
<p>‘How peaceful… and here I am having nightmares of this place’ he thought as images of his dream flashed in his mind. He walked gently as he passed through the master’s bedroom and then towards the bathroom. He turned the light on and immediately made his way to the sink about to wash his face, only to stop when he caught sight of it on the mirror. His eyes weren’t red, in fact his face did not show any signs of him crying. He smiled sarcastically as he placed his hand over the mirror while tracing his reflection. ‘It seems I was given a mask rather than a face’ he thought to himself as he proceeded to open the sink and washed his hands instead.</p>
<p>As he was about to go back to his room, he noticed light coming from downstairs. He slowly walked down the long staircase. When he realized that the lights are coming from both the kitchen and his father’s study, he smiled and quickly made his way to the hallway. He peaked inside the study and found his father busily writing in between documents that was stocked higher than he could ever remember, at least after his father insisted that his works be forwarded from the HQ to their home.</p>
<p>‘And I already told him I’m okay living here alone’ he thought to himself as he looked at the man still in his business clothes yawning and stretching. The two locked eyes and Takuya greeted him with a smile.</p>
<p>“Can’t sleep?” Tsuna asked his son who immediately sat at the sofa he just took a nap at. The young sky nodded at him and asked why not sleep in his room.</p>
<p>“It’s too big for me” Tsuna replied. “Unless you want to sleep next to me then I’ll be sleeping there from now on” he continued while earning a helpless smile from his son.</p>
<p>“Dad I already told you, I have bad sleeping habits. I do 360 degree revolutions on weekends and 180 degree revolutions on weekdays. I also do a---” Takuya was cut off by Tsuna’s laughter.</p>
<p>‘Oh no, did I overdo the excuses again?’ the young sky thought to himself as he also awkwardly laughed.</p>
<p>“I already told you it’s okay to flatly reject me. You don’t need to make excuses” Tsuna replied now with a serious face as he made his way to his son. “I did promise to ask you this once every year” Tsuna stated as he sat in front of Takuya.</p>
<p>“I wonder what excuse you will give to the past me when asked to sleep in my room” he muttered with a teasing smile.</p>
<p>Takuya was confused and looked at his father in front of him still smiling. “I thought we’ll be having our own rooms at the Namimori Base?” Takuya asked as the man in front of him looked at a corner while muttering that he did not include the request for rooms in his letter.</p>
<p>“Come on, Dad. You’re bluffing” Takuya stated plainly to which the man quickly agreed. The young sky was confused at his father’s behavior. “How did you know I was bluffing?” Tsuna immediately asked, still smiling.</p>
<p>“Your… actions gave you away” the young sky replied while trying to maintain his smile to which Tsuna disagreed. “Wrong answer” the man simply stated.</p>
<p>“You took a peek at my letter, didn’t you? Actually, not just a peek, you even tried to erase some of its contents, in particular, my hunch that you’ll eventually find some way to bypass the system” Tsuna pointed out while noting that his son was stubbornly forcing himself not to avert his eyes away from his. The man just sighed in defeat after their staring battle.</p>
<p>“Takuya, I know you’re trying to do something, and I wouldn’t force you to tell me the details. Just remember that I’ll always be there to protect you no matter what” Tsuna stated as he got up and patted his head. “The same goes with my past self” he continued as he now showed a sincere smile.</p>
<p>“How did you learn to ask like that? Your smile was really scaring me” Takuya teased as he scooted himself at another corner of the sofa, far from his reach.</p>
<p>“I’m not convinced that you were scared with that smile of yours” Tsuna replied as he fought back a laugh from his son’s antics.</p>
<p>“That was my point” Takuya replied with a serious face. After a while, the two laughed.</p>
<p>“Reborn told me that smiling while confronting kids was effective to let them confess their mistakes but, just like what he suspected, I failed. And actually… I gave up halfway my script” Tsuna confessed embarrassingly. The whole room were then filled with Takuya’s laughter while muttering in between that he couldn’t believe he prepared a script for this.</p>
<p>Tsuna then approached his son and pinched his cheeks. “You’re finally laughing. Make sure to remember laughing like this, okay?”</p>
<p>“Dad, it hurts” Takuya pleaded to which Tsuna complied and let him go. “Wait, which part of our conversations were true?” the young sky realized as he rubbed his cheeks. He looked at his father about to go out of the room.</p>
<p>“The script was a joke” he simply stated. “Want some hot chocolate?” Tsuna then continued as he looked at his son giving him a defeated look. He nodded and they made their way to the kitchen. Takuya sat at one of the stools while his father prepared the drinks.</p>
<p>He looked at his father’s back and recalled the number of times he asked him to drink hot chocolate every time he got up from a nightmare. ‘I can’t hide anything from him after all’ he thought as relief washed over his face at the thought that his father will always see through his mask.</p>
<p>“Dad, I’m sorry” he called out to him. “I am given the chance to see Mom again while you’re stuck in here, solving problems for the family” he stated slowly.</p>
<p>Tsuna handed him his chocolate and just smiled. “Knowing that you’ll be able to spend time with her again is more than enough for me” he replied. “Just that…” he stopped as if not knowing how to continue what he wanted to say.</p>
<p>“Just… what?” Takuya asked noting his father’s slightly worried face.</p>
<p>The man sighed “Just… don’t be too overly familiar with her, okay?” he pleaded.</p>
<p>Takuya just stared at his father for a while. “You edited their names out in our profiles, didn’t you?” the young sky stated with a raised brow. “That’s okay Dad. I understand. You don’t have to explain it to me” Takuya replied as he took a sip of his drink.</p>
<p>“I did ask my guardians and they all agreed to hide their names, why does it seem I’m the lone culprit here?” Tsuna muttered with his head down.</p>
<p>The young sky guardian looked at his father and thought of something. He clarified if he actually erased their names to which his father disagreed. Tsuna explained that he only hid the names and can still be read as long as it was infused with the correct flame.</p>
<p>“Dad, how about if there was some sort of accident and… the letters came out from hiding?” the young sky nonchalantly stated. Tsuna paused from drinking.</p>
<p>“That accident should never happen” he replied with a serious face which earned a teasing smile from his son.</p>
<p>“I can help you date mom earlier, you know?” Takuya stated. “But…” he paused as he animatedly showed that he was reconsidering it. “I admit that your love story was too enjoyable to hear and I wouldn’t want my younger self to not know it” he continued with a serious face.</p>
<p>Tsuna showed him a straight smile and reached out to again pinch his cheeks, this time a lot longer. “Young man, sort out your priorities, will you?” his father replied.</p>
<p>“I know, I know Dad, I’m sorry, I was just joking” the young sky pleaded. Tsuna let go and proceeded to rub his cheeks for him. “After you finish drinking, go to bed. You still have some time to take a nap before you prepare for your travel” Tsuna stated to which the young sky nodded.</p>
<p>“I’ll be departing for HQ at daybreak, so I won’t be able to send you off” Tsuna remarked. “Don’t do anything rash and ---”</p>
<p>“Protect everybody? I got it, Dad” Takuya continued with a determined look to which the man just smiled with a tinge of sadness in his eyes that the young sky did not fail to observe.</p>
<p>“Don’t do anything rash and… enjoy your time in the past with your friends” Tsuna finished as he kissed him in the forehead before going back to his study. Takuya looked at the retreating back of his father while sipping his drink. Tsuna then turned again to him and asked if he wanted to tuck him in, to which the little sky embarrassingly disagreed.</p>
<p>“Dad, I’m too big for that” Takuya pointed out while finally pushing his father out of the kitchen and into the hallway. “Don’t forget to rest too” the young sky instructed before his father entered his study.</p>
<p>The single father who is already in his 40s sighed as he found himself sitting on the sofa. He leaned forward and reached for something on his side table.</p>
<p>“I don’t know how to be a mother, but I hope that I… am doing well being his father” he muttered as he looked at their family photo.</p>
<p>“Please guide our son like what you’re doing these past few years. Those may have been imprinted illusions, but it helps him and… me to cope” he muttered as he now glanced at a little mist flame in front of him slowly taking form of his wife smiling at him. After a while, the form disappeared, and the flame dissipated along with it.</p>
<p>“I miss you” he whispered as he fought back his tears from falling.</p>
<p>xxx xxx</p>
<p>Daybreak came as Nana Sawada found herself waiting in front of his son’s house. After a while, the doors opened only to find no one. ‘I’ve grown accustomed to this occurrences’ she thought to herself as she made her way to his son’s study knowing that he’ll definitely be either swamped with work or still asleep. She hoped it was the latter. When she was about to open the door, she heard something in the kitchen.</p>
<p>“Tsu-kun?” she called out while approaching the lighted room where the savory aroma was coming from. True enough she found her son in his business clothes with an apron on, cooking breakfast.</p>
<p>“M-Mom! What are you doing here?” Tsuna asked. The woman just smiled at him and motioned for him to hand the spatula over. “You need to get going. You’re half an hour late for your meeting at HQ, right? Go now, I can do this” she replied as she continued making omelets.</p>
<p>“How did… Takuya told you?” her son asked.</p>
<p>“I asked your friend Basil-kun to get me your schedule” the old woman looked at him innocently. “I gave him traditional Japanese sweets that I’ve made for the children at the foundation the other day” she continued.</p>
<p>‘You bribed him?!’ is what Tsuna would’ve asked in reply but his mother insisted on getting him out of the house already.</p>
<p>‘I sure hope she did not use Dad to coerce the information out of Basil-kun’ he thought to himself as he quickly took his apron off. As he was about to leave, he realized something.</p>
<p>“Mom, how did you reach the house?” he asked as he gauged the expression on his mother’s face. Tsuna sighed. “You teleported again, didn’t you? I thought I told you that teleportation devices will strain your body if you frequently use it?” he stated as the old woman just sighed in reply.</p>
<p>“I asked Romario-san to drive for me” Nana replied while noting that her son wasn’t believing her. “I actually asked him this time, okay? He’s even waiting for you in front of the house. He’ll take you to the HQ so that you won’t have to drive yourself” she responded as she pushed him out of the kitchen.</p>
<p>‘That’s twice now, why am I always pushed out? I do think I’m skilled enough to cook after all these years…’ Tsuna thought to himself as he finally made his way out of the house after checking in on his son who was peacefully sleeping, much to his relief. </p>
<p>Several hours passed and Nana was close to finishing the bento boxes she prepared for her grandson and his friends. She then noticed movement at the corner of her eye and found Takuya who was about to sit on a stool. “Morning, Grandma” the little guy greeted in between his yawns.</p>
<p>“How many hours did you sleep?” Nana asked as she placed the last of her dish on the table. Takuya motioned ‘two’ using his hands as he yawned again.</p>
<p>Nana smiled. ‘It’s better than nothing at least’ she thought to herself. “Make sure to sleep early next time, okay? You were up late with your Dad again” she replied as she pointed out at the drops of chocolate both he and his father forgot to clean on the table. Takuya nodded in reply and quickly grabbed a few omelet rolls in front of him. She knew that her grandson can barely sleep at night that it saddens her to pretend that she doesn’t know anything about it. She wanted to respect her son’s request, but it was hard for her to keep it up every time she has the chance seeing Takuya’s tired face every morning.</p>
<p>“Dad” he muttered, interrupting Nana’s train of thought.</p>
<p>“He was halfway to finishing your breakfast when I came and reminded him of his meeting” she stated. “He’s a good cook, now right? I don’t know how he does it, but his dishes have a distinct taste” she continued as she observed her grandson stuffing his mouth with more rolls.</p>
<p>“I did tell him he was good enough to work at a restaurant, but he replied that it was too generous for a compliment” Takuya remarked as he recalled the scene on his head. “Ah, and I also told him that I can cook for us today, but he still followed our rotation” he continued as he munched on the other dishes.</p>
<p>Nana sat down opposite his grandson. “I maybe the reason why he turned out that way” she muttered loud enough for her grandson to hear. Takuya stared at her. “I did nothing to help him gain confidence in himself” she continued as she saw her grandson disagreeing with what she said.</p>
<p>“If you’re talking about how I am now, it’s all thanks to your mother. Your mom always saw that your father is capable of doing so much more. She asked me to believe in him back then, and I eventually did” she pointed out as she recalled the time she found out that both her son and husband were involved in the mafia, days before an event that they called the inheritance ceremony.</p>
<p>She decided on convincing Tsuna to step down since she believed that her son wouldn’t be able to take it and it was too dangerous. However, as if reading her, she was stopped from doing so, was given reassurance and a request from his friend who she thought would share the same sentiment with her. That friend was the person her son married later on and she was so grateful to have her by her son’s side.</p>
<p>Takuya noticed her Grandma staring into space and called her attention, which after a few tries, the old lady finally returned to his senses. “Sorry my dear, what were you saying?” she smiled apologetically.</p>
<p>The little sky smiled. “I was saying that you’ve changed for the better, Grandma” he replied to which the old woman smiled in reply. “Ah, how’s the foundation?” Takuya asked, changing the topic of their conversation.</p>
<p>“The number of children being admitted have slowly died down in number. No one has fully recovered yet, but their life expectancy has been prolonged” she replied as she got up to mix more hot chocolate. “The doctors are checking up on the cause of their recovery” she continued as she then glanced at the entrance of the kitchen. Takuya followed her gaze and smiled.</p>
<p>“You two, come on out” Nana instructed as two boys appeared from the hallway now partly illuminated because of the sun’s rays.</p>
<p>“Good morning, Ma’am” the boy with brown hair greeted.</p>
<p>“You can always see us even if we hide our presence. Were you trained by Aunt I-pin, Grandma?” the boy wearing glasses and with black hair stated.</p>
<p>“Takeru, you’re too stiff. You can just call her Grandma like we used to. Hinata, you still have your glasses on” Takuya commented as both boys entered the kitchen and sat opposite him.</p>
<p>“Good morning, Takeru, Hinata” Nana replied with a smile. “You arrived early” she continued as she placed the hot chocolates in front of them.</p>
<p>“Too early, if I may say so” the young sky reiterated. “Did the uncles do something?” he pointed out.</p>
<p>Hinata showed annoyance in his face while the other just nodded in reply. Takuya fought his laughter as he noted that even Takeru was slightly annoyed.</p>
<p>“My grandfather called unexpectedly last night. He said that he prepared a feast and wanted to have dinner with us” Takeru stated as he pointed out to Takuya and Hinata. “I turned him down” the boy simply stated.</p>
<p>Takuya stared at him and turned to his other friend. “He turned him down because he thought that teleporting late into the night will only tire us and we needed strength for today’s journey” Hinata offered as an explanation.</p>
<p>“I assumed that was the case but, why did you have to reject him flatly?” the young sky directed his question to Takeru who was at the time munching on some bacon. “You know how your Grandpa behaves when he sulks” he pointed out.</p>
<p>“And that my friend is what happened to me. I’m the unlucky victim who was caught up in his mess” Hinata stated as he munched on his toast slowly as he stared at his friend beside him.</p>
<p>“Let me guess, for some unknown reason you wound up in TakeSushi back in Japan?” Takuya asked as the annoyance on his friend’s face grew which means he was correct.</p>
<p>“That unknown reason was because of my old man. He actually has the nerve to use my own technique against me” the boy replied as his grip on his glasses became tighter. “I was already in my pajamas about to sleep when it happened” he continued with gritted teeth.</p>
<p>“What’s Uncle Hayato doing back in Japan anyway?” Takuya asked while Takeru looked at him with same interest.</p>
<p>“He was there to see if there was any activity from the Namimori Base” he replied briefly. “And for some reason he met Grandpa Tsuyoshi and he asked for me to come and eat there with him. That old man, he should’ve known that Japan’s seven hours ahead of Italy and that it’s way past my bedtime” he continued as he showed his frustration by chomping down on the bacon he had.</p>
<p>“You and your bedtime schedule” Takeru muttered loud enough for him to hear. The other boy seemed to have snapped at what his friend said.</p>
<p>Takuya watched the exchange between the two and just smiled. “So, Takeru, why are you annoyed?” he asked.</p>
<p>“Hinata could’ve avoided being teleported but he was just too lazy to dodge” Takeru pointed out to which Takuya inwardly agreed. ‘I can see that happening’ he thought to himself.</p>
<p>Hinata averted his gaze from them which just confirmed their suspicion. Both Takuya and Takeru just sighed at his actions.</p>
<p>“Grandpa called again and told me that Uncle Hayato brought you in TakeSushi. I suspected you wouldn’t be teleported by your father without your will but when Grandpa sent a video of you half-asleep eating sushi, I decided to teleport as well. I suspected he will ask you to use your technique and teleport me to Japan and so, I saved you the trouble of doing it” Takeru then continued. “However, when I got back to the mansion, Uncle Squalo was furious at Bel and Mammon. Father explained that they suddenly disappeared moments after I teleported” he paused catching his breath. “I can’t believe you pinpointed Bel and Mammon and teleported them in one of the enemy’s possible hideouts” he then shouted.</p>
<p>Hinata’s brow was twitching as he apologized but then he shouted in defense that he was half-asleep and that he tried scouting the area before with Uncle Takeshi and they already checked it as a safe place, so technically there was no harm done.</p>
<p>Takeru started muttering words synonymous to reckless in reply which intensified the glare coming from Hinata. Takuya laughed at the two and reminded them that they needed to go now or else their senpais will give them an earful.</p>
<p>The young sky realized that his grandmother was still with them. He looked behind him and saw her smiling at his friends. “They seem to behave different when they fight” Nana muttered to which Takuya nodded in reply as he approached her.</p>
<p>“Takeru’s more talkative and Hinata’s livelier” the little sky responded. ‘That’s why I enjoy seeing their little fights. It’s as if we’re back to our normal selves’ he continued in his thoughts. He then called out to his grandmother and hugged her.</p>
<p>“We need to get going now, Grandma” Takuya stated as he felt Nana’s hug grow tighter. After a while, he was released from the hug and he proceeded to carry the piled bento boxes wrapped in cloth.</p>
<p>Hinata and Takeru who just stopped from fighting approached Nana and they both bowed down and thanked her for everything. Nana then reached out to the two of them and with confused faces they too were pulled into her tight embrace.</p>
<p>Takuya smiled at the sight, he then glanced one last time at the kitchen and with last minute preparations, the three of them bid Nana farewell.    </p>
<p>
  
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hello~ Expect to see chapters describing the present (future) households of our beloved boss and guardians, and other family members as the story unfolds. Thank you very much for reading! Hope you enjoyed this chapter~</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Before Departure</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Two figures were out late into the night with baskets on hand. The taller figure was wearing a purple dress elegantly framing her figure, accentuated by her long, braided silver hair while the smaller figure with white wavy hair was wearing a yellow shirt with denim overalls. They both went to the back of the mansion and entered the garden filled with a variety of flowers visible through the outdoor lights and the full moon staring at them from the cloudless sky.</p>
<p>The girl picked on some of the flowers and placed it on her basket. She then glanced over a familiar white flower. 'A lily of the valley' she thought to herself as she then proceeded on picking more of it.</p>
<p>"Are you going to make each of them a bouquet?" the old woman asked.</p>
<p>"Yes" the girl responded with a smile. "I don't know when I'll be able to come back so I'm hoping to make my absence up to them through the bouquets" she continued. The woman just nodded in reply and continued on picking some more.</p>
<p>Moments passed and they were able to gather enough to make the bouquets. As they were about to reach the pergola located at the far end of the garden, they then heard a noise coming from behind them. There they found two figures who unceremoniously landed on the stone paths of the garden.</p>
<p>"I did not expect to see the two of you in this state" the old woman stated with a smile as she then proceeded to settle her things at their supposed destination. The girl on the other hand immediately went and helped the two up in their feet.</p>
<p>"Ugh, that Hinata…" the woman grunted. "He messed up our landing again" the man stated while shaking the dirt off himself.</p>
<p>"Diane-nee, Jack-nii. Are you two alright?" the girl asked, worry evident on her face. Diane patted her head and gave her a reassuring smile. The older one however stopped on her tracks when she noticed that the girl's hair was different.</p>
<p>Arianne noticed her confusion and offered that she dyed her hair only for tomorrow "I wanted to play a little prank on my Dad back in the past" she continued. Diane smiled and just nodded in reply and the three of them proceeded to where the older woman was at, now fixing up the bouquets.</p>
<p>"The two of you seem flustered. Did something happen?" the older woman asked without looking at the newcomers. Silence greeted her in reply. She then looked up and glanced at the two "Let me guess, you did something outrageous and it ended wrong" she stated as she placed the now finished bouquet at the side. "Come on, spill the beans" she instructed.</p>
<p>"We p-poisoned our way in" Diane replied slowly as she looked at the older woman in front of her. "And you… ended up in the hospital" she then continued as she immediately bowed her head and apologized.</p>
<p>Jack looked at his twin and sighed. "That was a quick summary of events" he muttered. He then looked at the older woman. "What happened in between was that she-" he was then cut off.</p>
<p>"You don't have to explain, Jack. I think I can imagine how the events went" the older woman replied as she then patted Diane's head. "I'm not weak. If I was there together with your father, then that would mean I was already undergoing my training at the time" she explained.</p>
<p>Diane then eventually looked up, her eyes a little bit teary that Arianne offered her a handkerchief. The older woman then insisted that they should hurry up and finish the bouquets because Arianne needed to be up early tomorrow. She then looked at the man who was about to help too.</p>
<p>"Jack, quickly teleport to Talbot-san's place. He said he needed you to fix Little Kousei's gear" she quickly instructed to which the man complied to doing. After just a few moments, Jack found himself inside a cabin.</p>
<p>"Master?" he called out as he searched the room for the said man. He then reached his workplace and saw a piece of note that said the old man was called for by the doctors at the foundation. He then placed the note aside and wore his apron on.</p>
<p>He looked at the Cloud vongola gear in front of him and recalled the memory of him first seeing the gears back when he was 16. They were attending a large birthday party celebration of Takuya, Hinata and Takeru, the three little kids he fondly considers as his little brothers. The event was held at the Yamamoto residence and he remembered the adults having fun at the lawn. It was already late into the night when he decided to check up on the kids. He entered the mansion and visited one of the guest rooms, expecting to find the kids already sleeping but then he found no one there. He slightly panicked as he then caught sight of what seemed like little flames all over the hallway leading to the annexed dojo.</p>
<p>He recalled running and passing through little flames of the sky that became denser as he was nearing the entrance to the dojo. When he finally entered, he marveled at the sight that seemingly came out of a picture book.</p>
<p>Flames can be found anywhere. He approached the flames and noted how pure all of it were and that they were really warm. He then glanced at the occupants of the room. Takuya, Hinata and Takeru were running around in circles with Natsu, Uri and Jirou at tow. Both Hikari and Ryu who was just 9 at the time were busy watching Koujirou and Mukurowl flying up in the air while Kangaryuu was continuously jumping over a sleeping Gyuudon. Beside the sleeping bull, he found Sylvia who was a few years younger than him, knocked out on the floor.</p>
<p>He then recalled how his twin came with their Aunts. They were all shocked and confused. He was also a bit confused when he saw their faces because there shouldn't be any problem for their kids to play with the animals since they are already used to it every day. It was only when his Father together with his Uncle Tsuna came that he realized what was happening.</p>
<p>He laid his eyes on the Natsu beside the Primo and then glanced back at the Natsu that was still running around with Takuya. He was sure that the animals weren't an illusion which was also an observation both his father and Uncle Tsuna shared. This led to them calling his Master late into the night to see if there was something wrong with the Vongola gears.</p>
<p>'Turns out that part of the souls of the animals separated from the whole and with their raw power, they made them materialize' he thought to himself still amazed at the thought. 'Not to mention that because of that they have their own gears now' he continued as he glanced at the cloud VG on his hand.</p>
<p>"They still need to make it their own though, since they crafted it very much alike with what the Primo and his guardians have" he muttered out loud while finally placing the finished gear inside a box. After cleaning his workplace, Jack then made his way out of the cabin with it and teleported back to their residence.</p>
<p>xxx xxx</p>
<p>A prestigious school institution built for mafia families stand proudly in the middle of a major forested area located at the far southeast of Italy. This school maintains its exclusivity to the mafia through a powerful chasm of illusion surrounding it which effectively confuses lost civilians and even military or government hired organizations aiming to breach the said place. The chasm is wired to its own AI which checks the flame signatures of those who are entering the place with a mafia-verified ring, or at least for the sake of the Neo Vongola Secondo's family, their Vongola Gears.</p>
<p>Three figures riding airbikes entered the basement of one of the buildings. Takuya, Hinata and Takeru noted how silent the school was compared to the normal days where frequent alarms were heard all over the campus either due to the aftermath of a school-wide monitored battle or from the ruckus caused by troublemakers; and usual shrieks from the students worshipping their school idols.</p>
<p>Upon finishing the teleportation of airbikes back to their respective residences via Hinata's technique, they then continued walking out of the basement and into the long hallway of the ground floor of the building.</p>
<p>"Has it been three years now?" Takuya asked to which the two nodded in reply.</p>
<p>"It has been three years when we decided to accompany you here… Well it's not like we're full time students here, but it added more load to our studies back in Japan" Hinata pointed out. "That reminds me, why did you decide to come with us, Takeru?" he continued.</p>
<p>"I thought it was fun" Takeru stated with a straight face that then earned a laugh from the young sky and a questioning face from the young storm. Hinata tried to get more words out from the young rain but to no avail.</p>
<p>Takuya then laughed inwardly as he was reminded of a scenario when he was 9. One weekend, a man with a scarred face and a very intense aura came visiting his house. He was all alone that day since his Dad reluctantly left for a business meeting with the Varia. He was warned not to let strangers in, but he was overly curious to the liger that he sensed hiding in the shadows of their garden who seemed to have the same flame as the man. He tried to converse with him but only gave one word replies that he eventually lost interest and played with the liger at the garden instead.</p>
<p>'Little did I know that act ended up with me being persuaded into taking courses here' he thought to himself. 'Well, this is partly Dad's fault, if he actually gave me a Vongola history book with pictures then I would've known that I was actually talking with the infamous Xanxus of Varia' he continued with a helpless smile breaking out of his face.</p>
<p>"Takuya, are you okay?" Hinata asked as he stared at his smiling friend.</p>
<p>"It's silent. This is bliss" Takeru then muttered which finally snapped the young sky from his thoughts. He apologized and explained he just recalled his first meeting with Uncle Xanxus from their exchange. Hinata and Takeru nodded while they too recalled their first meeting with the man. It was when they sneaked into a meeting between him, Uncle Tsuna and Takuya that they met him. The man was the one who insisted to letting Takuya study some subjects in the mafia school considering his circumstances to which after a very pained expression from the Primo, the young sky agreed to his offer.</p>
<p>"His offer came with the intention of him looking out for the family… in his own way" Hinata remarked.</p>
<p>"He never liked kids" Takeru stated with his usual straight face. The young rain recalled the time when he was first introduced to his mother's workplace. There were several kinds of people with varying degrees of intensities that kept on greeting them at every turn on the big mansion. When they reached the room that was a lot grander and more spacious than the other rooms he saw, he was told to sit at the corner of the room and play with Koujirou and Jirou in the meantime. He remembered nodding at his mother who was telling him that her boss doesn't like kids. Then his line of sight was directed to this man sitting at the center of the room, they had the chance to lock eyes and it was then that he knew that this man was the one have beaten his Uncle Squalo. He was really excited to finally meet him.</p>
<p>"Apparently word got out that we managed to have our own <em>inheritance ceremony</em> at our joint birthday party celebration" the young sky stated breaking Takeru's train of thought. Hinata laughed and replied how interesting would it be to see his face when his informant relayed the news to him. The other two inwardly agreed as they then turned into the corner and into the room with big glass doors.</p>
<p>The three was about to settle in the room when they saw objects from a pen to even a huge table hovering up in the air. The room has a high ceiling but the number of objects that was up there kept on accumulating that eventually made the room much smaller and cramped even. The three was confused that they remained near the entrance of the room for a while. They then heard a familiar squeal from the farthest end of it that they immediately went there to take a look. There they found two kids sitting on the tiled floor.</p>
<p>A black-haired kid dressed in a suit was clapping his hands as he looked up at the objects and back to the other brown-haired kid who was also in a suit with his head tilted upwards while he muttered something inaudible. The three then turned their attention to the gasp that they just heard from their back.</p>
<p>"I only left for a bit, how did this happen?" Ryu stated as he then met their gazes. "Oh, you're here" he simply stated as he then kneeled in front of the kids and snapped Fuuta out of his trance much to the other kid's annoyance. They then looked up not forgetting about the objects about to fall on top of them when they noticed it falling a bit slower.</p>
<p>"Mist…" Hinata muttered as he saw the flame coating the objects. He looked around to find the one doing it but to no avail. Then after a few moments, they heard a loud yawn coming on top of them. "Oi! Sawada, Gokudera, Yamamoto, you're finally here! Are those bento boxes?" Hikari called out to them as she was still sitting on a sofa that was still up in the air.</p>
<p>"What are you doing there? I thought I told you to keep an eye on them while I was out?!" Ryu screamed at the girl who replied in between yawns that she fell asleep.</p>
<p>'This girl really' the young sun calmed himself down, lighted his flame and with a snap of his fingers, pure sun flames coated the girl and the sofa which then rapidly contributed to the growth of the existing mist flames that was there.</p>
<p>"H-Hey, what are you doing?!" Hikari replied in alarm. She continued talking but then the mist flames merged together and after a few moments she along with the sofa disappeared.</p>
<p>"I hope you're fully awake to get out of that illusionary space of yours" Ryu called out as he then watched the other three newcomers who helped in settling some of the objects down while it happened.</p>
<p>"Married couple" the young rain muttered loud enough for the other two to hear.</p>
<p>"They are acting more and more like a married couple these days" Takuya replied in agreement. He then looked at the brown-haired kid who was now writing something on his big book. "How did Fuuta-nii's younger version got here?" he asked directing it to young storm who was then laying out the bento boxes they came with.</p>
<p>"They hatched a <em>brilliant</em> plan without us knowing" Hinata replied as he was then greeted by a five-year- old about to lunge an attack at him. He dodged the little punches and kicks with difficulty. "Who taught Kousei to greet people with an attack?" he immediately stated as this scenario played out in front of his childhood friends.</p>
<p>"Do you really have to put it that way? We just wanted to follow our boss's footsteps, that's all" Ryu replied as he then approached the young sky who was now sitting on a couch. Takuya understood what he meant and immediately apologized.</p>
<p>"I thought it wouldn't help if you guys also came to the past with memory of the future" the young sky explained. "So, what happened with your plan? Was it a success?" he then continued.</p>
<p>"It was more than a success if I may say so" Ryu replied. "Hear this, we were struck by a bull and I came crash landing into the past. She on the other hand went to your place and even asked Reborn-Sensei for a gun showdown" he continued as he then pointed his finger near him. Moments after, mist flames came gushing out of the space and with one quick movement from the form inside it, the flames dissipated.</p>
<p>"That was quick" Takuya remarked as he then looked at the sofa that immediately appeared near him and with an afterimage of the girl, he looked behind Ryu and saw her strangling the guy.</p>
<p>"That's the last time I let you manipulate my flames, you stuck up of a guy" Hikari exclaimed with gritted teeth. Ryu however remained a straight expression while he was wildly strangled by the girl.</p>
<p>"He's used to it" the young rain muttered while looking at the scene in front of them. He then made his way to his friend who was still battling with Kousei at the farthest end of the room.</p>
<p>Takuya can't help but smile and was about to help his Senpai from being strangled to death by his other Senpai when he was hugged from behind by someone.</p>
<p>"Tsuna-nii!" the voice called out as Takuya then just patted the kid's head. When Fuuta let go, the young sky kneeled in front of him.</p>
<p>"Hello, Fuuta-nii. I'm Takuya, Tsunayoshi Sawada's son. Nice to meet you" he stated with a smile as he noted the slight confusion in the kid's face that after a few moments turned red.</p>
<p>"I-I'm sorry, I thought you were Tsuna-nii" he explained with an embarrassed expression. Takuya laughed and reassured him that it was okay. The young sky has completely forgotten what he was supposed to do and conversed with the ranking prince instead. He asked if he know where he was and was answered that a man with glasses and red hair explained the circumstances to him. He came to know that Fuuta first found himself wandering around the Bovino HQ only to be found by Uncle Lambo who was about to head out for a meeting. He also learned what happened to his other senpai who was supposed to be with them right now.</p>
<p>"Then Kousei-chan asked me to rank something for him" Fuuta ended his story while now eating the contents of the bento he offered for him to eat.</p>
<p>"Ryu-senpai, Hikari-senpai, why weren't the two of you caught with Sylvia-nee?" Takuya asked that then stopped the girl from still strangling the guy.</p>
<p>"Ah... Sylvia-nee took all the blame" Hikari stated as she then settled at the nearest bean bag that was sprawled at the floor. She then proceeded to eat her bento on the coffee table.</p>
<p>"She thought it would be bad for my mom and her parents to know that we did something risky" Ryu explained as he massaged his neck. He then looked at the young storm screaming at the young rain to help him out. "Ah… we told Kousei that we went to the past a while back and he also insisted on going now and so-" he was then cut off by Takuya.</p>
<p>"And so he's attacking the only person that can help us manually teleport to the past, that is aside from Sylvia-nee" the young sky continued to which Ryu disagreed.</p>
<p>"He's the only one who can do it now. I changed the flame signature on our uniforms to accept only his flame" Ryu explained. "Between the two of them who have both pure lightning flames, I would rather bet my life with the one who is a lot less clumsy than Onee-san" he continued with a sigh.</p>
<p>"Oi, I heard that" Hinata screamed as he defended himself from the punch of the little kid. "I would gladly teleport you now, you little -" he was interrupted by Takeru who shouted at him to not curse since there are kids at the area.</p>
<p>'Oh, really know, that's what you're so concerned about?' he thought to himself as he glared at his friend who was seating comfortably while eating (again) and was simply watching them. "Oi, Takuya, you know I can't fight for a long time. Not to mention this kid as my opponent is grueling" he then called out to his other friend who was at the time reading Fuuta's ranking book.</p>
<p>Takuya raised his head, looked at the wall clock and then at them. The fighting was even more intense than they first started. He observed the little cloud smiling and laughing in between hits while Hinata was really annoyed.</p>
<p>'He says that, but he is effectively blocking Kousei's attacks well' he thought as he then excused himself from Fuuta and approached them. When Kousei was about to land another blow to Hinata's face with his fist, he easily caught his little hand with his.</p>
<p>"Wow, the sting on your punches are getting more and more intense, Kousei. Did you learn that from our last training session with Uncle Ryohei?" he then asked as he watched the kid turn his attention to him.</p>
<p>The kid broke out into a smile. "Yep. I am trying so hard to constantly use his technique with Mama's fighting style" Kousei replied. "I will be using it to play with my Papa in the past" he continued with a grin. Takuya inwardly laughed as he mentally noted that playing for this kid is equivalent to his dad's usual catchphrase of biting someone to death.</p>
<p>"You need to eat then for energy. That way you'll be in tip top shape when you ambu- play with your Papa" the young sky stated as he patted him on the head. The little kid happily complied as he skipped his way to the table and settled in another bean bag.</p>
<p>"Oh. The show's over" he then heard Takeru point out who then received a smack from Hinata who was at the time massaging his arms.</p>
<p>'I wasn't expecting that kind of workout first thing in the morning' Hinata thought to himself as he sat near the worktable placed adjacent to their sala. He looked at the occupants of the room and was reminded of something. "Takuya, Takeru, we should probably change our clothes now. Chrome-Sensei's about to arrive" he pointed out as he made his way into their lockers. The two followed suit and went out of the room to change at the dressing room located at the end of the hallway.</p>
<p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Goodbye Future</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The young sky, storm and rain now in their uniforms stopped in their tracks when they saw two figures appear in the main hallway.</p>
<p>"I thought Chrome-Sensei's with them?" Takuya muttered while noting the panicked faces of both figures who were now running towards them. The dark-skinned boy with red hair stopped in front of them while the girl just ran pass them while shouting that she needed to give Kousei his VG.</p>
<p>"Is she still angry at you?" Hinata whispered at the young sky who just sighed in reply. They then turned to the newcomer who was still catching his breath.</p>
<p>"We need to teleport now" the boy stated in between breaths. "The resistance will be here any minute" he continued.</p>
<p>"What? Aunt I-pin, Uncle Lambo and Chrome-sensei should be the only ones to know of our current location" Hinata remarked.</p>
<p>"The barrier" Takeru responded gaining the newcomer's attention.</p>
<p>"The barrier's not gonna hold. Arianne said that someone's currently hacking into the system. Chrome-Sensei's trying to reinforce the mist flames" the boy responded.</p>
<p>"How many minutes 'til they reach the school grounds, Eric?" Takuya asked as he now looked at a grid that appeared from a circular translucent device hovering over his hand.</p>
<p>"Less than 5 minutes" Eric responded as he glanced at the grid that was now filled with red dots and to the other two who seemed to be equally intrigued at what their friend did.</p>
<p>Takuya just smiled, fully aware that his friends are staring at him. "I'm not using my flame, don't worry. I asked Sylvia-nee to place a tenth of my flame that was stored in the Bovino Lab. Then Ryu-senpai helped me lengthen the flame's use through his flame" he explained while doing a recon of their area through the device. "You guys don't have to worry about me all the time. I know my limits" he then continued with a reassuring smile.</p>
<p>Eric and Hinata nodded in reply while Takeru patted the young sky's back. "'Let the enemies come in. Eric will flame coat the buildings, and I'll knock them out while the rest of you move out' - is what he said" the young storm while pointing at Takeru who just nodded in reply.</p>
<p>"Oh, did he now?" Eric muttered with an arched eyebrow mainly directed to Takuya while the other two conversed about the specifics of the plan.</p>
<p>"Apparently Takeru uses Uncle Mukuro's trick but he has always directed his thoughts to Hinata to stop him from being lazy" the young sky whispered to Eric.</p>
<p>'And did he actually think he's not becoming one himself?' Eric asked himself as he just smiled at the young rain who was now approaching him. "So, do you agree with this?" he then asked.</p>
<p>Takuya nodded and explained that it would be for the best since they shouldn't risk the enemies finding out about them teleporting to the past. The group then split and ran in opposite directions.</p>
<p>"Eric, make sure that Takeru will just knock them out, okay? It may not seem like it, but he's been trying to hold back his anger when you told us that resistance members were ambushing us" Takuya's voice rang in Eric's head much to his confusion. "And yes, I also know how to do it" the voice continued.</p>
<p>Eric stopped from running and looked back only to see the backs of his two friends who were now about to turn into a corner. 'I forgot that he can faintly use mist' he thought as he then continued running only to stop again when they sensed presence surrounding them. After a while, figures dressed in full black with various weapons infused with flames appeared before them. Their faces do not show any expression and their eyes were all red.</p>
<p>"What happened to Chrome-Sensei? Was she defeated?" Eric muttered as he then lighted his flame. With one flick from his hand, the enemies surrounding them was grounded to the floor. Bone cracks were heard and after ensuring that the enemies cannot move, they then swiftly made their way out of the building.</p>
<p>"Hurry we need to get to where we left Sensei" he shouted but was then pulled back by the collar of his uniform. He looked up only to found Takeru staring at him with a straight face. "She's safe" the young rain then simply stated.</p>
<p>"Let me guess, the moment Takuya agreed with your plan, you notified Sensei about it and asked for her to call for reinforcements?" the red hair asked while fixing up his uniform.</p>
<p>Takeru simply nodded as he then looked at his own tracking device. "It actually worked" he muttered as he stared at the dots that was slowly accumulating at different parts of the buildings.</p>
<p>The young rain recalled his conversation with his friend earlier. Hinata offered to use dummy flames to lure them in; however, the flames that will be used were not theirs. He recalled being against the idea since the enemy should have the means to identify specific flames. How then did they find out about their location if it weren't for it? The young storm just urged for him to wait by then and see the results since either way he can take them all down however he likes.</p>
<p>'It would be great if Jack-nii finished his version of the Mammon chain with our gears, then our flames wouldn't have to leak and be found in the enemy's radar' he thought to himself. 'Though I guess this is a blessing I've been waiting for, I can finally avenge her' he continued with clenched fists.</p>
<p>Eric looked at his friend and noted the intensity of his eyes increasing by the second and a sinister smile now slowly creeping on his usual expressionless face. 'So, this is how he looks like when he's angry' he thought to himself as he curled his hand into a fist. As soon as he did, a sphere full of water engulfed the young rain's head.</p>
<p>"Fiamma dell'oceano. I know you have a connection to this because of Uncle Kaoru" he stated as he simultaneously took down the incoming enemies whose lower halves have been frozen just with a snap of his other hand.</p>
<p>"You're not the only one who would want to kill these bastards, but…" he stated as he now opened his hands which then popped the sphere from Takeru's head. "You may have a different perspective on this since the principles of Varia was taught to you early on but your mom did it for you to realize that you have her and your fathers principles to live by. You choose what you want to retain." Eric looked at his friend who returned to his usual straight face, he then met his gaze.</p>
<p>"I'm wet. Dry it off" Takeru commanded which earned a helpless smile from Eric. Again, with one flick of his hand, razor sharp leaves appeared which then flew pass the young rain and towards the enemies that were about to attack them. This technique also conveniently dried Takeru's hair and clothes.</p>
<p>"Sorry for spoiling your plan on revenge. In return, all of the enemies are now inside the buildings. Coating's finished. They're in dire need of a swim" Eric replied as he looked at the buildings now wrapped with a nearly invisible and impregnable barrier from his flame of the earth.</p>
<p>"You actually mastered all of the flames of the earth" Takeru replied as he stared at him. A few seconds passed and the young rain has yet to do his technique. Eric's brow was twitching as he looked at the boy in front of him that just continued staring at him.</p>
<p>"Yamamoto, just so you know, it was my first time to use the flame coating technique at this huge of a scale" Eric replied now with sweat trickling down his face. The young rain continued to look at him.</p>
<p>"We're on a tight schedule here, okay? I wouldn't want to destroy school property so I can't use my other flames for the job" he continued while mentally recalling the tab that was directed to CEDEF a year ago when he first visited them in this school. He shivered as the image of her fuming Aunt Hana flashed in his memory.</p>
<p>The young rain smiled at his friend. "Thank you, Eric" he muttered and as soon as he did, the buildings were filled with his rain flames. 'Just 5% purity then. That way, they won't die' he thought to himself as he now looked at the buildings.</p>
<p>The red dots that initially covered the school area then all disappeared at the same time. "They did it" Ryu muttered as he now glanced at the young boy who just landed the final blow to an enemy. Kousei then kicked the unconscious enemy to the pile of bodies that accumulated there in just a few seconds. He immediately looked back to his device and searched for the others.</p>
<p>'Hikari, Arianne and Fuuta-nii, Takuya and Hinata, they're surrounded with enemies too' he thought to himself as he recalled how they split in groups after being intercepted by the enemy during teleportation.</p>
<p>"Kousei I'm going to contact Hinata. More enemies will come because of the signal. Do you want me to <em>play </em>with you?" Ryu asked the little cloud.</p>
<p>"No thank you, Ryu-nii. Roll and I want some new playmates" Kousei requested with sparkling eyes that then earned a helpless smile from the older one. He then muttered 'Contact Storm' and his device began sending pulses of his sun flame. After a while, he heard static then Hinata grunting in the background.</p>
<p>"Hinata, are you all right?" Ryu asked while swiftly avoiding the attacks from the enemies that came lunging at them the moment his call connected.</p>
<p>"Hello, Ryu-senpai. We're okay. I'm hiding my presence and fixing this mess Takuya led us into" Hinata replied in a straight tone. "Well, he was partly the reason. But the other one who is equally responsible for this is downright annoying" he then continued.</p>
<p>"So, it wasn't because of an enemy?" the young sun asked as he then heard Hinata scoff in the background.</p>
<p>"Not an enemy, just a worrywart idiot" the young storm replied with his annoyance fully evident in his tone. Ryu inwardly laughed as an image of a girl flashed in his memory. He then asked Kousei if he needed his help now. Both the young storm and sun heard a beaming "No, thank you" from the little cloud.</p>
<p>'As much as I despise the resistance, I can't help but pity them' the young storm thought to himself after imagining the pile of bodies that normally decorates the battle area when the little cloud is involved.</p>
<p>"You better not let Arianne hear you. You should know better than badmouthing her best friend" Ryu then warned breaking the young storm's train of thought. Hinata looked from his device and to the enemies surrounding them. "She knows I did it anyway. Enemies have been surrounding us non-stop. She must've asked Hikari-senpai to redirect them to us with her illusionary space" he then replied as he looked at Takuya.</p>
<p>"Plus, Takuya's with me so, I wasn't shocked that she'll do it" he muttered as he then locked eyes with Takuya who was fighting at a good distance away from him. The young sky showed him a smile and mouthed 'I heard you' to which Hinata just laughed nervously in reply. He swayed his head and focused again on his device.</p>
<p>"I'll begin teleporting now, tell Kousei to stay still. It seems that there are no enemies near Hikari-senpai's group" Hinata instructed as he lighted his flame and prepped his technique. As soon as he mentally locked the coordinates, five storm flames penetrated the ground and swiftly made its way to their target.</p>
<p>Hikari felt a familiar technique coming towards them and instructed Fuuta and Arianne to stay still. A few moments later, the flame resurfaced beneath each of them and materialized into a circular platform. Storm flames then shot up accurately hitting the Vongola emblems on their uniform. The three then immediately disappeared.</p>
<p>Takuya sighed as he finally defeated the last of the resistance members attacking them. He looked around and saw Hinata whose expression turned from relief to confusion and then to annoyance.</p>
<p>"What happened? Did they teleport successfully?" Takuya asked as he then looked at his device for the answer. There he found three more flame signals that should've been teleported by Hinata awhile back.</p>
<p>"That little- Ryu-senpai, why did you also move the last minute?" Hinata shouted at his device. He then heard a grunt on the other line.</p>
<p>"S-sorry. I thought Kousei would stay still now that he finished 'playing' but he said he needed to recount the bodies again and then he tackled me out of the platform because he wanted me to report this to the Vongola reinforcement team" he replied while dusting the dirt off his uniform.</p>
<p>"Stop sending me your thoughts, damn it!" Hinata who was now facing the direction of the school then shouted out of the blue.</p>
<p>Takuya inwardly laughed as he observed his friend who was about to burst. 'At this rate, he will cause a forest fire with his anger' the young sky thought to himself.</p>
<p>"The reinforcements are here. Takeru said that he finished handing them a report" Takuya stated while looking at Hinata who was trying to calm himself down. "Ryu-senpai, tell Kousei to leave the bodies there, I already instructed the team to count and record it under his name" the young sky continued which then earned a glare from Hinata.</p>
<p>"She won't know that I used my sub-flame again after a few hours. Don't worry" Takuya responded which earned a sigh from the young storm.</p>
<p>"If I wake up one day with a scythe ready to rip my neck off, I'm going to swiftly switch places with you. And if I did not make it in time, I'm going to haunt you" Hinata stated with a straight face while initiating his technique again. Takuya just laughed and watched their surroundings slowly distort. After a while, the five of them then vanished.</p>
<p>xxx xxx</p>
<p>At the Bovino Laboratory, Sylvia found herself waking up from her long nap. Her eyes widened after realizing that she's already late. She mentally computed how long will it take for her to get to school from where she was at considering the teleportation hubs that she can use along the way.</p>
<p>"I should've installed one in our room back then. I get that they wanted to keep the school grounds safe, but they should think of the convenience it'll bring. Just a few adjusting and troubleshooting of the system is needed for it to work!" she began muttering as she ran around the laboratory packing some documents and a box of candies she was planning to give her older brother's past self.</p>
<p>She then stopped on her tracks when she caught sight of a note placed on her monitor. She read its contents and opened her mini fridge beneath her workstation. There she found a sandwich and a bottle of grape juice. "I thought that he was angry?" she muttered.</p>
<p>"Yes, he was. But he said you needed to eat" a voice responded. Sylvia turned around and found a figure slowly taking form.</p>
<p>"Jack, I thought I told you not to teleport directly to the lab?" the woman asked as she proceeded to pack the sandwich and juice into her bag.</p>
<p>"You can eat it. They already teleported to the past. You can just use Hinata's stored flames to teleport, right?" Jack asked as he proceeded to sit down opposite her. Sylvia just stared at him unable to process what he was saying.</p>
<p>"Do you need me to fetch the box for you?" Jack asked to which Sylvia finally responded.</p>
<p>"No, I can do it myself" the woman replied as she made her way to the farthest end of the laboratory. There she prompted the AI. As soon as she did, thunder flames began to surge beneath her and with it came a rectangular platform that then elevated her. After a while she stopped at a wall panel. She then lighted her flame and infused it in. The moment her flame was absorbed, the panel opened revealing storage boxes in seven different colors. She took the red one out and instructed the AI to let her down.</p>
<p>'I need to ready the coordinates or else, I might end up at a different place and it'll be troublesome since teleportation hubs do not exist yet in the past' the woman thought to herself as she then stepped out of the platform. She was snapped back to reality however when she heard Jack shouting at her.</p>
<p>She looked around only to finally realize that she was falling head-first into the ground. She was about to call for Gyuudon when she found herself in Jack's arms. "Uncle Lambo made the right call for me to accompany you for the time being" he muttered as he stared at the olive-haired woman who was now fixing her lab coat.</p>
<p>"Thank you, Jack. Sorry, I was busy thinking about something and I thought I already touched ground and-" Sylvia stopped her explanation after meeting the man's pointed stare. "I'm sorry" she simply stated as she then made her way to her things.</p>
<p>"I know you could've survived that fall but, you need to know when to be fully immersed with your thoughts and when to pay full attention to what's happening in front of you" Jack replied with a smile as he patted her head along the way.</p>
<p>"Are you sure that the two of you aren't going out?" a voice called out which then earned their attention.</p>
<p>"Diane! Were you there the whole time?" Sylvia asked while approaching her. "Oh, what do you mean by going out?" she continued.</p>
<p>Diane looked at her twin with innocent eyes and was about to explain what she meant when Jack quickly dragged Sylvia and immediately placed both of his hands on her ear. The young thunder guardian who was used to the man's antics looked at him straight into the eye.</p>
<p>"Jack, aren't you tired of this pattern? Cause I really am" Sylvia responded sternly. When she saw that the man did not show any intention to move, she sighed and also placed both her hands on his ears. She pulled him close and deliberately bumped her head to his. "For the nth time, I just want to know what place Diane was talking about that we should go to" she then stated as she looked at the man before her who was now massaging his forehead.</p>
<p>Diane can't help but laugh at the scene in front of her. Her laugh did not last however when she felt her twin glaring at her. She then quickly whipped an excuse that she will tell Sylvia regarding the place in detail when she returns from the past. The young thunder guardian was confused but just nodded in reply.</p>
<p>"Oh, right. What is your real intention of coming here?" Sylvia then asked as she finally took a bite from her sandwich. "My brother was really angry awhile back; it would take hours or days before he talks to me again. This handwriting was pretty much similar with his, but you missed some strokes here and there" she pointed out as she looked at Diane.</p>
<p>"Also, this isn't his blend of grape juice. Did you make this, Jack?" she continued as she looked at the man who just nodded.</p>
<p>"I came here to consult with a theory of mine regarding the Mammon chains" Jack replied as he then showed her blueprints that was now displayed on the multiple set of screens on the laboratory. Diane watched the twinkle in Sylvia's eyes and looked at her twin with pity.</p>
<p>"Your ultimate rival to her heart is your works. Stay strong, Jack!" she whispered to her twin as she patted him on the shoulder. Jack just showed her a look that says he's aware of it in reply. She laughed and made her way to Sylvia reminding her of the request she initially asked her to do. The young thunder guardian smiled and reassured her that she will.</p>
<p>"Then, I need to go now. Aunt Bianchi needs some help babysitting" she stated as she then teleported out of the laboratory.</p>
<p>
  
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Hello Past</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Arianne knitted her brows as she felt linen beneath her. She moved her hand in a circular motion and after a while, she relaxed.</p>
<p>‘It must be a weekend. Yup, definitely how the weekend feels... No classes in Japan, no Uncle Kikyo telling me to get up and prepare for vocal lessons, no ---‘ her train of thought was broken as soon as she whiffed a familiar and mouth-watering smell.</p>
<p>‘Mama’s making stew~’ she thought to herself as she debated whether or not to sleep in or get up early to eat with the family. She slowly sat herself up, still with her eyes closed as she took another whiff of the stew. She yawned and after a few minutes of staying still she finally opened her eyes. It took her a while to adjust to the brightness that was coming from the tall glass windows beside her.</p>
<p>She immediately stood up and was about to check her appearance in the bathroom when she noticed her full-on black clothing. Her gaze then rested on her necktie where the Vongola emblem was embroidered, storm flames slightly emanating from it. She stayed still for a while only to look up as she sensed motion near her. She immediately lighted her flame and from it two dragons materialized. The two swiftly targeted the person behind her only for her to hear a light laugh followed by an applause.</p>
<p>“You have both my black and white dragons and your attack was a bit hard to stop with just an applause. I should really think of other defensive moves” a voice then replied as she slowly turned around. There she saw Byakuran floating in the air with his wings that looked even more majestic as it bathed in the sun’s rays. Together with him was a familiar blue-haired girl that was just staring at her.</p>
<p>“U-Uncle” Arianne stammered as tears then formed in her eyes. Her gaze then shifted to Bluebell who then teased the guy about making her cry.</p>
<p>They then heard footsteps approaching. The door then sprang open. She heard familiar voices, one with the tone of anger as it seems to reprimand her Uncle and one with the tone of worry, calling out her name. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and turned around.</p>
<p>There she met the warmest smile from the girl and a reassuring look from the man. She stared at them for a while as she then realized that her tears are now flowing relentlessly. Slowly, she approached them. One step, two, three. Reaching a fair distance from them, she then smiled.</p>
<p>“Mama, Papa… I’m home” she muttered in between breaths. She watched as the man blushed while the girl just laughed at him. The sight in front of her made her tear up more. As she was then about to collapse into the ground she was caught in a tight embrace.</p>
<p>“You did well, Arianne” Yuni comforted her as she patted her head.</p>
<p>“We’re here, we won’t leave you” Gamma stated as he carefully wiped her tears from her cheeks.</p>
<p>Arianne wanted to respond but her current state of sobbing and gasping for air in between wasn’t exactly suited for a full sentence conversation. She just nodded instead at everything Yuni and Gamma said. ‘I thought I’d be able to take it and greet them with a smile, but I am still a crybaby in the end’ she thought to herself as she then tightened her embrace.</p>
<p>It was already late into the morning when she finally stopped crying. Her eyes were already sore, crying every single time she saw a family member that came to visit her. Looking around she observed the usual scene unfold in front of her. Her family, the Giglio Nero and Gesso always had the tradition of eating or basically just hanging out together during weekends in their garden since it was the only day that she and other family members who are working with other allied families can rest and spend their time with them. She was told by Yuni in passing that they were supposed to travel to Japan for the inheritance ceremony when she suddenly appeared lying in the couch of the mansion.</p>
<p>“Gamma-aniki panicked and called the family doctor since you were burning when you arrived” a man with blond hair stated. She then looked at her father sitting opposite her and explained that her body is a bit weak with anything that has something to do with teleportation but its not that dangerous for her health.</p>
<p>“He also was panicking a while back regarding a different matter” the man then continued which earned a glare from her father. She was confused as she then looked at her mother who just laughed at the exchange and then to her Uncle Kikyo who was at the time passing by their table and was now awkwardly pointing at her hair. Realization hit her as she then laughed.</p>
<p>“Uncle Tazaru stop teasing Papa” she called out as she then touched her hair. “I was planning to prank Papa that I have this as my natural hair color and not the blonde one that you saw from my profile. I thought that the idea that Uncle Byakuran was my father will not work on Papa, but it seems that I guessed wrong. I actually forgot about the prank until now” she continued as she then heard a laugh from Byakuran seated at the adjacent table.</p>
<p>She turned around and saw her Uncle now stuffing pastries in his mouth while giving her a big thumbs up. She then turned her attention to the now embarrassed Gamma and apologized to him. “Mama should’ve known that I dyed my hair. Rather than worrying, why didn’t you ask her instead?” she then asked.</p>
<p>“He wouldn’t be able to” a voice responded again from the adjacent table. Her father again glared at the red-haired man who was now stuffing himself with meat. She watched her Uncle Zakuro avoid her father’s gaze and innocently showed her a smile. She laughed together with her mother as they both found the exchange amusing to watch.</p>
<p>“Arianne-nee, we weren’t called Millefiore in the future?” a boy with straight pink hair came tugging at her clothes. His big yellow eyes seem to plead for her to agree and with a light smile she nodded. She watched the boy leap into the air and ran to Bluebell and Deisy shouting that he won the bet.</p>
<p>“We weren’t called Millefiore but our families were close enough to let other outside families think that we merged into one” she then explained as she looked at the three of them. She then took out her circular device which was hovering in the air that partly amused the three. She whispered ‘Gifts’ and from it, a storage box popped out. She excitedly opened it and a huge pile of objects came out. She easily picked a big sized rabbit plushie, a scarf and a scythe weapon from the pile. “These is for Deisy-nii, Bluebell-nee, and Nosaru-nii” she energetically continued.</p>
<p>Two pairs of eyes sparkled as she handed them their gifts while the other seemed confused. “Bluebell-nee, that scarf according to your future self is the best gift you could ever ask for” she then explained as the girl’s face became even more confused.  </p>
<p>‘I even stole that one for you since you desperately asked me to. I can’t understand why won’t you personally ask Futa-nii to give you one instead back then’ she thought to herself as she remembered seeing the younger version of the ranking prince. She had thought that Fuuta was also with her but sadly, it seemed like she was the only one who was transported at Italy which was strange since she was supposed to be directed to the Namimori base in Japan. Her worry that something must’ve happened when they teleported was temporarily buried when the family members went and approached her pile of gifts. She swiftly handed it to them one by one.</p>
<p>When she went pass through Yuni and Gamma she generously smiled. “I’m your gift” she mouthed as she then proceeded to distribute her gifts to the others. Yuni and Gamma smiled at her while Byakuran who saw the exchange tailed at her asking for his gift.</p>
<p>The guy only stopped pestering her when she finally handed him a coupon. “You can ask the pastry chef of this shop back in Japan to make you a large marshmallow cake for a whole year. I already made the necessary preparations” she explained as he then quickly flew pass her and inside the mansion shouting that he’ll ask Irie to go get it ready for him right away.</p>
<p>Arianne laughed and took in the sight in front of her. She missed seeing them for years. Now that she was given the chance to be with them again, she wondered If she could ever return back to her time.</p>
<p>xxx</p>
<p>Enma had the whole day cut out for him. He sighed as he recalled how unnerving and tiring it was to be with the Varia for the search. He looked at the clock beside him and noted that it was already 2 in the morning. He quickly tucked himself in between the sheets as he tried to at least sleep for a few hours or else Adel would definitely be mad at him. It was always that way with her, she knows if he had a good rest, had trouble sleeping or if he simply didn’t sleep just because he wanted to. The last one would result to him frozen and hanged upside down outside their mansion so he wouldn’t dare do it again. He drifted off to sleep finally after an hour of imagining Natsu jumping over the fence. This did not last however when he suddenly shot up and went outside of his room.</p>
<p>‘An intruder?!’ he thought to himself as he then first checked his family members who one by one also went out of their rooms. His face showed relief after seeing all of them still in their pajamas with noticeable bed hairs except maybe for Adel.</p>
<p>“An intruder at this hour? I should’ve went back with Shittopi-chan instead of sleeping here in their headquarters” a man responded in between yawns as he fixed his large-frame glasses.</p>
<p>“Julie, we already talked about guarding the mansion in rotation just in case someone would try to break in when we’re busy doing the job” Adel responded as she then hurriedly ran towards the main hallway. The others followed suit.</p>
<p> “It’s more convenient for us to stay here than traveling back and forth every day, you know” a voice responded. Julie turned to his side and saw Aoba who was running with his eyes closed while hugging a pillow.</p>
<p>“You should probably look where you’re going” Julie responded which earned a nod from Ooyama and Kaoru who were just behind them.</p>
<p>“I’m using my flame don’t worry, I can sense everything~” Aoba responded in between yawns which then earned a straight face from the other.</p>
<p>‘You’re not using anything. Don’t blame me if you go running towards the rails and fall face flat to the ground floor’ Julie thought to himself as he looked forward and noticed Adel and Enma who were now hiding in the corner. He sped up and asked what was going on. Confusion was placed on both their faces that he peeked slightly and saw the main hallway filled with Varia members who cannot move.</p>
<p>“Aren’t those your flames, Adel? Also Aoba’s and Ooyama and…” Julie paused as he realized all of their flames was there scattered along the hallway. He was about to ask Enma if he also sees the same when someone went pass through them with ridiculous speed. The three of them watched Aoba crash through the wooden railings and eventually lost his consciousness.</p>
<p>‘I told you so’ Julie responded inwardly as he rolled his eyes at what happened. “He’s lucky only his pillow got off the second floor and not him” he can’t help but mutter in his breath as he then looked at the Varia members who are now asking for their help.</p>
<p>Adel then looked at Enma and with a nod coming from him she then helped unfreeze those who were frozen. ‘I’m glad that with only a couple of days they actually trust us. Though maybe concealing our flames helped us to get away from their suspicion… for now at least’ she thought to herself as she then nodded at her other family members to help.</p>
<p>They all helped, that is except for Aoba who was still unconscious, but confusion was displayed all in their faces since they were sure they were the only ones who can wield the flames of the earth.</p>
<p>Enma then told Adel that he needed to go search for Squalo and the others to get a hold of what’s really happening. The woman nodded and asked Kaoru to accompany him. They then swiftly made their way to the room where they held their meeting yesterday only to find no trace of attacks nor the Varia for that matter.</p>
<p>He then saw lightning struck the ground from the windows and immediately went outside to take a look. There he found Levi wielding his weapon now infused with his flames. He then looked at his enemy who was swiftly avoiding the attacks.</p>
<p>“I already told you, Uncle, I’m not an intruder” the boy firmly responded as he again evaded the incoming attacks. Eric mentally sighed and cursed at Takeru for pushing him into the circular platform when he should be the one reporting to the reinforcement team.</p>
<p>“And now, for whatever reason, I’m in this mess” he muttered in his breath. He then looked around and noted that the structure of the Varia headquarters was relatively the same to what he recalled back in his time. He then planned on using the desert flame to trick Levi into thinking that he’s still fighting with him. He needed to do this quick before Mammon comes and sees through his trick since he may be able to use all of the flames, but he can barely use it all to its utmost potential, except for his main flame.</p>
<p>As he was about to move on with his plan, he caught sight of a red-haired boy who seemed to be in his pajamas and was now looking at him. He then paused in his tracks amidst the attacks hurtled at him by Levi. With one snap from his finger, his earth flame quickly coated the man which made him fall face flat into the ground, unable to move.</p>
<p>Eric then approached Enma and Kaoru who seemed to have understood what was going on.</p>
<p>“Fa…ther, why were you in the Varia?” he then asked as he noted how short her father was when he was his age.</p>
<p>“We were helping in the search for the suspects that gave you all a hard time in the future” Enma responded as he looked at the boy that he just saw in the profile he was shown a few days ago. He recalled what Adel commented about his appearance, his hair a bit wavier than him but his eyes were the same as his. Aside from his natural dark skin, he really resembled him.</p>
<p>Eric was finding it hard to continue on with the conversation since he really wasn’t expecting to meet with his father this soon after teleporting. He can’t help but look around trying to find something interesting to point out even though it was a bit hard to see since it was still dawn. His train of thought was interrupted however when Kaoru embraced him and patted his back. “Welcome home” Enma replied as he smiled while slowly patting his head.</p>
<p>Eric wasn’t able to take it in anymore and cried silently. Adel, Julie, Ooyama and Aoba (who was now a bit more awake than earlier) saw the sight in front of them. Adel immediately run with Julie at tow while Ooyama pushed Aoba to where they were. They then joined and hugged Eric which made the boy cry even more.</p>
<p>xxx</p>
<p>Hikari bolted up and found herself in an unfamiliar room. The space was cosy and large enough for her to do laps around for her usual exercise. She looked at the emblem that was still emanating faint storm flames. “Guess we teleported successfully. And with our memories intact too” she muttered as she then made her way to the door.</p>
<p>She opened the door and found herself on a hallway that was furnished just like inside of a mansion. She looked around as she noted other rooms next to her. She tried knocking on them but wasn’t able to get any answer. She looked at the entirety of the place and noticed a hidden panel at the farthest end.</p>
<p>‘This is like the one we have back at home. There should be a space hidden beyond this wall. A storage perhaps? Ours was mainly reserved for guns, rifles and other heavy artillery from the COMSUBIN’ she thought to herself as she then saw the metal door appear and open in front of her.</p>
<p>“Hello, Hikari” Sylvia greeted who was now running around checking at the devices that was delivered.</p>
<p>“Sylvia-nee? I thought you’d come later into the night? Also, have you seen everybody?” the girl asked as she then helped in fixing up some of the clutters that was on the floor. Sylvia did not answer right away though as she looked at the data that appeared from her computer. Her eyes then widened after reading the report from the check that she did with the devices.</p>
<p>“She burned the holographic projector that was attached to the devices” she stated with a smile. Hikari who looked at her senpai still waiting for her reply noted that although she was smiling, her eyes weren’t.</p>
<p>Silence then filled the room only to be broken by the young thunder muttering that she can fix it, again and again. Hikari wasn’t exactly following what actually happened that she ended up repeating what Sylvia has been muttering. And with that, Sylvia finally lost it.</p>
<p>“That was typical of her to do but I wouldn’t expect her to do it when we’re in the past already! I didn’t bring any spare parts! Contact Crestia and tell her to deliver it first thing tom morning, Japan time” the woman commanded as she then tried to calm herself down.</p>
<p>Hikari stared at her for a bit and obediently took out her device and muttered ‘Send to Vindice’. “I already sent you to Vindice, senpai” she then stated.</p>
<p>Sylvia who was a lot calmer than before noted that Hikari must’ve sent another illusion of her saying that to Crestia. ‘I do hope that she actually sends it to her only and not to Bermuda again’ she thought to herself as she then apologized for shouting like that.</p>
<p>“Ah, if you aren’t aware it’s already late into the night” Sylvia then finally responded much to the shock of the girl.</p>
<p>“Sorry it was my fault that you ended up oversleeping. I tweaked the coordinates for a bit so that they can meet with their families right away but in return it… affected your bodies” the woman then explained as her face shrouded in horror at the thought of Hinata and Ryu reprimanding her and Takuya just smiling at her once she explains everything that she has done.</p>
<p>Hikari laughed at her senpai and replied that she’ll survive it since she already did countless of times before when they were younger. This did not help the woman however since she was reminded of those times she felt like she was a criminal undergoing a harsh interrogation.</p>
<p>“I guess we successfully bypassed the system” Hikari then changed the topic.</p>
<p>“Yeah, all thanks to the accident you guys were in the other day” Sylvia replied laughing but then her mood dropped after recalling what happened afterwards.</p>
<p>“Senpai, you really are amazing switching in between emotions” the girl called out which then earned an empty ‘thank you’ from the woman.</p>
<p>After a few more checks, Sylvia then excitedly displayed a blueprint on the large cylindrical device. “Say Hikari, would you like to test these out with your gear?” she then stated, her eyes literally sparkling. The girl can’t help but just nod at Sylvia’s request.</p>
<p>Unaware to the woman however, Hikari swiftly sent illusions to her friends telling them to quickly stop their Senpai or else the base may be in ruins when they come back.</p>
<p>
  
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. As the Cloud plays, the Sun watches</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kusakabe found himself sighing as he looked at the person lying a few paces from him. He looked up at the clouds and recalled what happened this morning when he relayed what he learned from the Namimori Base back to their president. He remembered him looking at the profile of the little cloud as he briefly made his report of the events to come.</p>
<p>Hibari looked at him a few moments after he finished what he was saying, finally peeling his eyes off the profile. He let out a smile and muttered one word, “Interesting” was what he said before finally handing him the sheet of paper.</p>
<p>Kusakabe who has been his subordinate for years, knew that his smile meant he decided who his next prey is. Without any delay, he kneeled down and begged the man not to fight his son even though he is well aware of the fact that their president detests people telling him what to do. The future Hibari may have been lenient on this particular matter but the present him would definitely bite him to death.</p>
<p>Kusakabe clenched his teeth for what’s about to come but then, Hibari simply left the room. He looked up confused as he just stared at the door.</p>
<p>‘I… survived. I was actually not beaten up this time’ he thought to himself as he then stood up. ‘The only ones who usually gets away with it were Dino-san and Sasagawa-san’ he then continued as a light smile appeared on his face.</p>
<p>Kusakabe let out another sigh. ‘Still, that little achievement doesn’t change the fact that he might fight the child’ he thought as he noted that Hibari has already drifted off to sleep. He then made his way from the roof and back inside the building.</p>
<p>Along the way, he can’t help but ponder when will the kids come since it is already the afternoon of the day they are supposed to appear. He was about to get down the first set of stairs when he felt a strong breeze pass right through him. He stopped and looked back up.</p>
<p>‘I was sure I partly closed that door. Was it a strong wind? I hope President didn’t… wake… up” he muttered as he made his way again to the roof only to gawk at what’s happening in front of him.</p>
<p>Their president (or was it actually an illusion?) was holding a child up into the air. The child was smiling widely at the man who looked amused and annoyed at the same time. It only took a millisecond for him to realize what was going on since the child strikingly resembled their president.</p>
<p>“Hello, Dad!” Kousei greeted with a giggle.</p>
<p>“You actually dared to wake me up” Hibari replied as he immediately placed the child down.</p>
<p>Kousei pouted. “I only wanted to ruffle your hair. You always let me do it when I wanted to” the little cloud muttered as he reached his arms up into the air only to be greeted with a raised brow from the man.</p>
<p>Kusakabe who was trying to keep a straight face pinched himself purposely when he felt that he was about to laugh at how adorable Kousei was. He knows he needed to interrupt them, but he can’t help but watch since it was the first time he saw their president be unsure of what he should do.</p>
<p> Kousei sighed. ‘Mom told me you’d be like this’ the little cloud thought to himself. “I actually wanted to play a little bit later, but I need to do this now” he muttered as he walked away from his dad while counting his little steps up to ten. He turned around, again facing his dad.</p>
<p>“Dad, let’s play! If I win, you’ll let me touch your hair” he challenged as he saw the light smile on his dad’s face. The little cloud smiled in reply as he then disappeared.</p>
<p>Hibari easily dodged the attack from behind him and immediately pulled out his VG. Kousei who has his back turned from him and was still in midair from the attack, was now encircled by chains from the cloud guardian’s expanded tonfas. The little child however disappeared at the exact moment the chains were supposed to close in on him.</p>
<p>Hibari can’t help but inwardly laugh at what happened. ‘Really interesting’ he thought to himself as he proceeded to attack the little cloud. What met his tonfas were punches from the child which effectively halted his movements every once in a while. This scene played out for a bit longer only to end up with a cage made of chains now surrounding the little cloud. Hibari made sure not to leave any gaps again since he knows how nimble the child can be. He was about to close in on him when his chains suddenly stopped moving. He looked at the chains and found no disturbances, not even from the child who just stood there. He tried moving his tonfas again, but it did not budge.</p>
<p>The cloud guardian looked through the chains and saw the child smiling. After a while, he heard something crack. “Dad, are you enjoying playing with me?” the child asked as the chains then one by one dismantled and fell to the ground. Kousei then quickly appeared on top of him with his little arms stretched out. The child was only an inch away from finally touching his hair when Hibari dodged again and caught the child’s feet.</p>
<p>Kusakabe was watching all of this unfold while trying to find the right time to interrupt them. Well, he was guilty for actually getting hyped up with the fight he just witnessed but it was high time he interrupted considering the current scene in front of him was a bit… concerning. “President, please let Kousei go. He was just trying to---” he called out to the both of them only to again pause in his tracks as he watched their president (or again, was it his illusion?) carefully place the child down.</p>
<p>The little cloud who was now on the floor seating, pouted. “No fair, Dad! You purposely dodged at the last minute” he pointed out as he crossed his little arms. Hibari looked at him with a straight face for a while before finally seating in front of him.</p>
<p>Kousei looked at his dad bow down which made him squeal in excitement as he reached his little arms out. He finally ruffled his hair with a wide smile. After a while, the little cloud then gently patted the cloud guardian’s hair. “I was planning to do this when I found you sleeping, Dad” he stated as he finally stopped and looked at his dad again. “Mom did say you’ll have good dreams if I did” he continued as he then turned around finally acknowledging Kusakabe.</p>
<p>“Hello, Uncle Kusakabe! I’m sorry I didn’t greet you back at the stairs. I was too excited to finally meet Dad” he called out with a smile.</p>
<p>“Oh, uh, that’s okay Kousei” Kusakabe responded as he then approached the two. He scanned the child and secretly breathed a sigh of relief after noting that he wasn’t hurt nor bruised from the fight earlier. He then turned his attention to their president who has yet to move from his position.</p>
<p>“President, are you… okay?” he asked slowly only to be greeted by a rare genuine smile from none other than the cloud guardian himself.</p>
<p>Kousei approached his dad and gripped on his sleeve. “Dad… I’m a bit sleepy” he called out as the little cloud collapsed. Hibari caught him before he hit his head on the ground and carried him up. He finally then looked at Kusakabe and instructed him to instruct the other members of the Disciplinary Committee that the club room is off limits until the end of the day.</p>
<p>Kusakabe just nodded as he watched the cloud guardian’s retreating back. He then pinched himself hard to confirm whether he was actually dreaming or not.</p>
<p>“I can’t even recall the number of times I thought that the President in front of me was an illusion” he muttered to himself. He knew that their President is capable of kindness, but he was shocked to witness this version of him. During their fight, he had thought that their President was already fond with Kousei the way he was with the arcobaleno, Reborn but, it was different to some degree.</p>
<p>He eventually took a deep breath and quickly followed the two clouds back into the building.</p>
<p>xxx</p>
<p>On the roof of another building, Ryu was relieved as he watched the outcome of the events that happened with the little cloud. He looked around as he finally unmasked his presence. It was tiring him out since he had been doing it ever since he came into the school grounds of Namimori Middle a few hours after teleporting. Also, the major reason for his fatigue was the fact that his coordinates were changed at the very last minute.</p>
<p>He laid down and closed his eyes as an image of the suspect flashed in his mind. “Yep, she’s the only person careless enough to do this” he muttered when another image flashed in his mind. ‘Ah. There’s also another one who can be equally careless’ he thought to himself as he let himself relax and feel the breeze.</p>
<p>A few moments have passed, and he was about to drift off to sleep when he suddenly shot up. ‘Oh no. I’m also about to give in to fatigue’ he thought as he slapped both of his cheeks.</p>
<p>“Let’s see. The plan was for us to arrive directly at the base so none of us knows the access points to the Namimori Base of this time. Hinata should be recovering the coordinates of the base now but even for him, it’ll take a while. It would be good if Takuya also helped, that’ll cut down the time by more than half but the big problem is, how could we even contact each other if we’re all tired that even calling through our devices is too hard of a task?!” he rambled out loudly as he laid into the ground again. “I was only this tired when Uncle Colonello usually comes and trains us in combat” he muttered as he recalled the time when Hikari enrolled him without even asking his consent in a combat class back at the mafia school in the mainland. He then stopped recalling and continued thinking what other options he still has.</p>
<p>“Sylvia-nee’s coming late so I guess I can’t count on her to teleport us back to the base. Hikari would be able to come see us through her illusionary space and we may actually find the base through it but its been a while and it seems that she’s not moving” he continued, his eyes closed again.</p>
<p>“I can just ask Uncle Kusakabe or go find Father” he again muttered. “But my uniform will definitely stand out and I’m too tired to hide my presence again” he continued as he opened his eyes with difficulty only for it to close again.</p>
<p>The bell rang. Ryu opened his eyes and looked up only to be greeted by the sun setting already. He stared at it for a while as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “I ended up sleeping here for hours” he muttered in his breath. He stood up and stretched for a bit. ‘Well I guess I regained a bit of my energy. Time to go look for---’ his train of thought was interrupted when he saw another person lying near him.</p>
<p>“Father?” he muttered as he approached the man. True enough it was the sun guardian who was sleeping soundly. The young sun can’t help but laugh since he wasn’t really expecting to meet him like this.</p>
<p>“How did you end up in here?” he whispered as he then looked around and found no one. The young sun then ran through all of the possible methods he can do to wake him up. After a few moments of decision making, he ended up with calling Kangaryuu out to punch him directly into his stomach.</p>
<p>“The spartan way of waking him up never failed me” he muttered reassuring himself. As he was about to call on Kangaryuu however, the door to the roof was flung open. He immediately hid his presence not because he was trained to do so but because the person who appeared was none other than his mother.</p>
<p>“Geez. I don’t know how Kyoko puts up with you all the time” Hana called out as she looked at the person in front of her. “You’re supposed to be her big brother” she then continued as she kneeled and pinched the nose of the man.</p>
<p>Ryu watched the scene in front of him and noted how his mother seemed to be enjoying herself as she looked at her watch. He heard her say that his father broke his record and that he will be waking up anytime now. True enough the sun guardian immediately opened his eyes as he grabbed Hana’s hand away from his nose.</p>
<p>“Kurokawa, why are you here?” Ryohei asked as he then looked around.</p>
<p>“I came here to tell you that Kyoko will go and do grocery shopping for an event that she’ll attend later. She said that you should understand what she’s talking about” Hana replied as she looked at Ryohei who seemed to be looking for someone. “Who are you looking for?” she then asked.</p>
<p>“N-no one in particular” the sun guardian replied which made the young sun smile since he knows how bad his father is when it comes to lying.</p>
<p>“Don’t tell me you’re going to fight with someone that’s why you were here?” Hana pointed out as she then stood up and searched the rooftop herself. Ryu just nodded and mentally noted that her mother was sharp and can read his father like a book.</p>
<p>The young sun waited for his father to look at his direction and briefly unmasked his presence. “Father! I’m here” he called out to him as he then motioned him not to shout. After making sure that Hana was still busy searching for any trace of a person, Ryohei then immediately approached the young sun.</p>
<p>“You’re extremely here!” Ryohei beamed. “You were sleeping a while back, how did you disappear?” he asked much to the young sun’s amusement.</p>
<p>“It’s a new technique, Father. I can teach it to you” he whispered to him as he then locked eyes with his mother who was visibly confused seeing him there.</p>
<p>“Who?” the girl asked as she looked at Ryu’s uniform and back to Ryohei.</p>
<p>“He is… ummm… a relative” the sun guardian firmly replied which earned a laugh from the young sun.</p>
<p>Ryu held out his hand. “Good day, I’m Ryu. Ryohei-san’s <em>relative</em>” he stated. Hana absentmindedly held out her hand in reply and greeted him too. She then looked at the sun guardian beside her.</p>
<p>“If you’re not fighting anyone then that’s fine. I need to get going now” Hana stated as she then locked eyes with Ryu again. She approached him and patted him in the head. “Just poke his eyes and run for it if ever you end up fighting him” she whispered to him. She then made his way inside the building without even sparing his father another glance.</p>
<p>‘That was something else. Was this their dynamics in the earlier parts of their relationship?’ he asked himself as he then looked at his father.</p>
<p>“Father, are you and mo—that girl always like this?” he asked as the sun guardian seemed to have a hard time recalling when he actually started talking with Kurokawa.</p>
<p>“We didn’t talk much before but recently, she will always be the one to wake me up when I end up sleeping on the rooftop or at the club room. She always nags me that I should be a better big brother to Kyoko (which I am extremely doing). I am… talking with her a lot now. Why?” the sun guardian responded as he then stretched to officially wake himself up.</p>
<p>The young sun was confused hearing his answer since his Aunt told him that his father should’ve known that he ended up with his mother way back when they fought with Millefiore. ‘Does he not recognize Mother or Father had forgotten seeing their picture together?’ he asked himself.</p>
<p>“I was just…curious about her that’s all. How would you describe her?” he replied as he then gauged his father’s reactions.</p>
<p>“Oh. She likes to be alone and is always annoying and stubborn” Ryohei responded without even missing a beat.</p>
<p>The young sun looked at him. “But?” Ryu then prompted. The sun guardian looked at him confused, as if he was trying to tell him why would there be a but when describing her.</p>
<p>‘Oh, I would love to show this face to Mother in the future. I will gladly tell her this little discovery of mine through a full-blown comic. Her reaction will definitely be epic’ he thought to himself while letting out an awkward laugh.</p>
<p>“But… what are you doing here, Father?” Ryu asked finally changing the topic.</p>
<p>Ryohei’s face then lighted up and replied, “I was searching for Hibari when I saw you sleeping and so, I also tried laying down. Before I knew it, I already slept to the extreme!” he then laughed loudly.</p>
<p>“Oh, that’s right. You guys need to be there before nightfall. We need to hurry and search for Hibari” he continued as he then ran inside the building. Ryu just smiled and followed suit.</p>
<p>xxx</p>
<p>Hana have already reached the ground floor when she finally realized that the boy who introduced himself as Ryu was the same person she saw in a document recently. She tried recalling the finer details, but she can only remember two unfamiliar words that said CEDEF and Vongola.</p>
<p>“Hana! How was it, did you find Onii-chan?” a voice called out to her which she just nodded in reply.</p>
<p>Kyoko observed her best friend who was deep in thought. “Hana?” she called out again as she then waved her hand in front of her. The girl then snapped back to reality as she realized something when she saw Kyoko.</p>
<p>“Kyoko, do you remember when we went to the cake store with Haru and Chrome?” Hana asked, her eyes full of expectation.</p>
<p>“You bought a cake too since it was Aunt and Uncle’s anniversary that time” Kyoko responded. “What about it?” she then asked as she looked at her who now seemed to be unsure of what to say.</p>
<p>“D-Did you receive a document along with it?” Hana asked slowly.</p>
<p>“A document? You mean a piece of paper? Are you talking about the receipt? Did they punch in the wrong price, Hana?” she asked with worry as she then offered to go to the store immediately.</p>
<p>“Ah, no, no. I wasn’t talking about the receipt. I was talking about a… profile. I received a profile and was actually going to ask the store why it was included in the package when it suddenly disappeared. I just remembered it now” Hana explained.</p>
<p>“There were two words that were written using the English alphabet, ‘C-E-D-E-F’ and ‘V-o-n-g-o-l-a’” she spelled out. “You’re more skilled in English than I am, Kyoko. Are you familiar with any of these words?” she then asked. Kyoko looked at her for a long while and ended up swaying her head.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry, Hana. I’m not familiar with any of the words” she replied as she then saw the slight disappointment from her face. Kyoko offered that she can personally bring this up with the pastry chef working at that store that she personally knows. Hana sighed and looked at her with a smile as she then replied that she’ll try to search for the profile again before asking the store about it.</p>
<p>Kyoko nodded. They silently walked together out of the school grounds until they reached the street where they were about to part ways.</p>
<p>“Hana, may I ask why you seem… desperate to know about the profile?” Kyoko asked slowly.</p>
<p>“I… don’t know” Hana replied as she looked ahead of her. “I just have the feeling that it was my treasure” she continued as she then smiled at her. Hana then bid her goodbye and wished her good luck with the preparations for the event she was going to attend.</p>
<p>‘You rarely smile like that, Hana’ she thought to herself as she waved at her best friend. “I’m sorry I have to keep this a secret even from you” Kyoko then muttered as she made her way to the busy street of their town’s shopping district.</p>
<p>
  
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>What do you think of this chapter? Hope you liked it~</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Rain & Storm at the Shopping District</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A tall figure in full black uniform was standing in the middle of a crowded street. Takeru furrowed his brow as he looked around him. He glanced from one signage to another and was relieved when he read Namimori at one of them. He then tried to locate himself when he was caught up in a sudden surge of people in the area.  Since he was unusually exhausted, he let himself be carried away while still looking around. This lasted for a while until he found himself at a street familiar to him. He then smiled as he saw TakeSushi at a distance.</p>
<p>‘It did not change at all’ he thought to himself as he approached the shop. After finally being able to find his way out of the crowd, Takeru stared at the shop and landed his gaze at the signage. “Except for the sign, it did not change at all” he muttered as he recalled his first time visiting Japan. It was his first plane ride and that he was so excited playing around since the only passengers were him and his parents. He was too excited at the time that eventually after a few hours (according to his father), he fell asleep. He then vaguely remembered a scene after waking up.</p>
<p>“Are you okay?” Yamamoto asked the brown-haired woman beside him.</p>
<p>A few seconds passed and the woman did not reply and just kept on browsing a pamphlet entitled ‘All about Namimori’. The rain guardian smiled and happily stared at her. The woman was keeping a straight face all the time but, the subtle nervousness from her was easy enough for him to notice. Yamamoto then went in front of her, sat down and slowly brought the pamphlet down, allowing him to finally meet her gaze.</p>
<p>“Hey, are you okay?” Yamamoto again asked as he was replied with an unsure nod from the woman. “You seem worried” he then continued as his gaze then rested on the page of the pamphlet that featured their sushi restaurant.</p>
<p>“I… don’t think he’ll like… me” the woman muttered slowly, a light blush appearing on her face. Yamamoto stared at her for a bit, gave a reassuring smile and held her hand. “Dad will like you, besides, it’s not your first time talking to him, right? This was his way of making up to you since he wasn’t able to attend our wedding back then. And, he may not show it but…” the rain guardian turned around and stared at the slightly awake Takeru. “he is excited to finally meet you two” he continued as he squeezed her hand, again to give her assurance.</p>
<p>Takeru’s train of thought was then interrupted when a bunch of people came out of the restaurant. He was about to step aside and search for the others when someone pulled him inside and after a few seconds, he found himself in the staff room. He stared at the man who also stared at him from top to bottom. The man nodded and handed him a change of clothes. He was then instructed to change fast since there were a lot of costumers at this time.  </p>
<p>‘Was I… mistaken for someone else?’ Takeru thought to himself as he stared at the part-timer uniform that was given to him. Before he finally realized what happened however, the man was already out of the room saying that his shift has ended and that he’s a life saver. Sighing, he changed his clothes and went out of the room and started serving customers.</p>
<p>After a few hours, the number of customers lessened giving him enough time to rest. He was still fairly exhausted and had thought he won’t be able to do this job well, but it actually proceeded smoothly. He may had frequented the shop every after school with the others, but he only experienced lending his grandfather a hand for a couple of times. “And to think that I have to make sushi since some of it ran out” he muttered as he looked at the trays that was initially filled with the fresh batch of sushi he made a while back.</p>
<p>Takeru had thought that the prepared sushi was enough but there were too many customers that came. The little rain also thought that his grandfather was in the kitchen all those times, busily preparing for a bulk order but to his horror, he wasn’t there. It was also the weekday so his father should still be in school.</p>
<p>While waiting for a couple of customers to finish, the little rain browsed through the event logs at the counter. He skimmed through it and found Vongola listed there for a couple of times. ‘Even in the past, the family’s really fond of grand celebrations’ he thought with a smile. His gaze then rested on the latest log under his father’s name. He recognized the familiar handwriting and read his note that he’ll be back early into the afternoon.</p>
<p>‘Must’ve been yesterday’ he muttered as he looked at the clock that is seemingly pointing out that he had been working for hours already since he wound up being the substitute part timer. He inwardly sighed and thought that he would have to tend to the restaurant for a few more hours since it usually closes a bit before nightfall.</p>
<p>After half an hour of occasionally serving the customers and reading again through the event logs, he heard a familiar voice from outside.</p>
<p>“Oh, Father’s here” he muttered as he saw the rain guardian arrive. Yamamoto locked eyes with him and after a while, he immediately approached the counter, confused.</p>
<p>“T-Takeru?” Yamamoto asked as soon as he reached him. The little rain nodded with a smile, it was rather rare for him to see his father shocked and flustered at the same time. The only time he recalled him like that was when he saw his Mother in a wedding kimono since Grandfather pleaded for them to marry again, this time in Japan.</p>
<p>“Why are you here?” the rain guardian asked as he then stared at the uniform Takeru was wearing.</p>
<p>“I’ve been working Father. I thought you have school?” the little rain replied as he also stared at his clothes.</p>
<p>“Ah… this? We were supposed to be at school but all of us woke up late this morning. You see we were busy preparing for you guys” Yamamoto explained, slightly embarrassed that his future son saw him cutting classes. “I’m sorry” the rain guardian muttered in the end which made the little rain smile.</p>
<p>“I’m glad that you arrived early, Father. I thought I’d have to work alone until later. Someone told me that I wasn’t fit to work here because I can’t even greet a customer well with a smile” Takeru explained after watching his father smile and tend to the only customer that was there at that moment.</p>
<p>Yamamoto then placed a close sign in front of TakeSushi. “Sorry, I don’t know how you were dragged into this, but we’ll be closing early since Dad will be preparing for an event for later” the rain guardian asked only to receive a worried stare at him in reply.</p>
<p>“Don’t worry, you did a good job. And… I don’t understand why they’d say that about you but, you’ve been smiling ever since I got here” he stated as he tidied up the table that was used.</p>
<p>‘Was I… smiling ever since Father came?’ he thought to himself as he tried tracing his lips, curious if he was actually smiling. Yamamoto inwardly laughed at the confused expression of the little rain. He then looked at the clock and smiled.</p>
<p>“Takeru, do you want to play… baseball?” the rain guardian asked. “I saw it in your profile, and I thought…” he was about to continue explaining when he saw that his question effectively gained the little rain’s full attention. As soon as Yamamoto saw his eager expression, he quickly told him to change and that they still have time to play before the event.</p>
<p>The little rain immediately did and waited for his Father to finish writing what seemed like a note to his Grandfather saying that he’ll be back later for the food. Yamamoto was worried since Takeru seemed too exhausted but seeing the little rain’s excitement brushed it all away. They then headed straight to Namimori Middle.</p>
<p>Along the way, Yamamoto learned that Takeru also loved baseball the same way he did. The only difference was that aside from baseball, he also loved the sword so much that according to him, he sneaks and steals his VG and asks Jirou and Kojirou to come out and let him wield the swords. He was also told that when he was assigned at a mission once, his future self needed to rely on his rain flames a lot since his VG was missing.</p>
<p>“I’ve been meaning to ask this, but are you familiar with a long brown-haired woman that is… related to the Varia?” Yamamoto then asked slowly. Takeru paused in his tracks and just nodded in reply.</p>
<p>“I… can’t help but think that you looked like her. Are you two related?” the rain guardian asked.</p>
<p>“Where did you meet her, Father?” Takeru asked in reply.</p>
<p>“Ah, I was accidentally teleported in the future and saw her there. I… ended up just staring at her back then. She looked startled and I thought I should… apologize to her the next time I got the chance to meet her” Yamamoto then further explained as he recalled the memory in his head. He then looked at Takeru and asked if he’ll be able to tell her that.</p>
<p>“No need for that, Father. You’ll be meeting her soon anyway” the little rain replied.</p>
<p>“Oh, is that so?” Yamamoto muttered as they continued walking. The rain guardian was deep in thought, recounting the memory of that particular meeting and asking himself what made him stare at the woman for so long. Takeru on the other hand, realized that he hasn’t responded to one of his father’s questions yet and again paused in his tracks. Yamamoto also stopped from walking when he did.</p>
<p>The rain guardian turned around and looked at the little rain who was now just staring at him. “Father, the brown-haired woman related to the Varia is Mother” Takeru simply stated as he then looked past Yamamoto. His eyes twinkled at the sight of the school and quickly entered the school grounds.</p>
<p>The little rain thought that he needed to mask his and his father’s presence from the Disciplinary Committee members but to his surprise, they weren’t at their usual posts. He then turned around and shouted he’ll be at the club room to his father who was still standing a good distance away from the school gate.</p>
<p>Yamamoto was snapped back to reality once he heard the little rain calling out to him and quickly followed suit. “Am I… allowed to know that?” he muttered to himself. Upon reaching the club room however, he immediately brushed it off and started to do stretching together with Takeru.</p>
<p>xxx</p>
<p>At a certain convenience store a few streets away from TakeSushi, Hinata found himself staring at his device. He had been trying to contact everyone for an hour already but no one’s responding. He looked at the two dots that was relatively nearer to him and thought that they should be okay considering that they seem to be moving around.</p>
<p>‘Don’t tell me he’s actually working’ he thought to himself while staring at the dot labeled with rain that was moving around continuously. He had heard a few girls who came at the store talking about a new, tall part timer who greeted them nonchalantly at a sushi restaurant. “First day in the past and he easily gained a lot of admirers” he muttered as he then looked in front of him.</p>
<p>“Uri, we really need to go now” he pleaded at the storm kitten who was busy eating a pack of fish he had conveniently brought with him. Uri purred in reply and immediately finished his snack, much to the little storm’s amusement. “You need to be close to me if you want to stay out, okay?” he reminded the kitten who again purred in reply.</p>
<p>The little storm sighed as he unmasked their presence as soon as he was sure that no one was looking their way. He already knew that someone forcefully changed their coordinates and the motive for changing was clear as day. As soon as he got that one figured out, it was easy for him to check up on Arianne and Eric who were teleported in the mainland.</p>
<p>‘If I’m actually going to bump with the old man, I would’ve preferred him seeing me in full vigor, not the state that I’m in right now’ he thought to himself as he untied his necktie and brought out a black cap. He was about to exit the store when he accidentally bumped into someone. The little storm sniffed the familiar scent of gunpowder and quickly called Uri back to his VG. He then bowed as he briefly apologized and finally got out of the store.</p>
<p>‘That was a close call’ he thought to himself as he inwardly apologized to Uri for forcing him to return. The kitten wasn’t angry at him however, but rather excited. “Oh no. We’re not greeting him like this. We need to go and find Takuya. He’s the one closest to us” he muttered as he tried to reason with the feline who was trying to go out of his VG again.</p>
<p>When he was finally able to make sure that Uri won’t go running towards the store, he breathed a sigh of relief. He then looked ahead of him only to inwardly scream after seeing the very person he was trying to get away from in front of him.</p>
<p>The little storm bowed down and avoided the storm guardian who seemed to have recently ran out of the store. Hinata was relieved when he successfully walked past him but it did not last however when he realized that something was clinging unto his pants. He looked down and mentally sighed.</p>
<p>“Hello… Uri” he muttered as he then picked the feline up. He turned around and saw his Dad a few paces from him, searching around while calling the kitten’s name. “Aren’t you going to go there?” he asked Uri who just snuggled in his chest in reply.</p>
<p>“Ah, Uri! Why did you go out without telling me again?” Hinata saw his Dad kneel and pick up a feline in front of him. The little storm was confused and looked at the still snuggling kitten on his arms. Realization hit him as he internally screamed for the second time now.</p>
<p>‘Ahh, Uri! When did you get out?!’ he asked the storm kitten inwardly and as if it wasn’t hearing him, the kitten proceeded to snuggle on his Dad’s chest. Hinata can’t help but cover his face with his free hand as he watched in between his fingers the exchange happening in front of him. His Uri was still snuggling and purring at his dad who was obviously surprised and happy at the rare gesture.</p>
<p>Hinata still tried telling his Uri to mask his presence and come back to him but… it did not work. ‘I should’ve expected this would happen. Whenever Dad’s around, Uri’s always like this’ he thought to himself as he then stared at the other feline that was now sleeping on his chest. “Well at least this Uri isn’t” he muttered as he sighed and turned around. He was about to go and blend in with the crowded street when his Uri purred inwardly, as if pleading for him to turn around.</p>
<p>‘Oh now, you ask me to come to you. <em>Not happening.</em>’ He stressed the last bit as he mentally noted how spoiled his Uri grew up to be, mainly because of his dad. He then heard the kitten cry which paused him from his tracks. He took a deep breath and turned around. He hesitantly approached his Dad who was now panicking since it was his first time seeing Uri like this.</p>
<p>He reached out and gently massaged the kitten’s head. “I’m here. I’m not leaving” he muttered and as soon as he did, Uri looked at him and purred before finally sleeping on the storm guardian’s arms.</p>
<p>“W-Who? Uri?!” Gokudera stepped back as he caught sight of another identical storm kitten also sleeping on the boy’s arms.</p>
<p>“Shhh! My Uri was exhausted, so it absolutely needs to sleep. Also, this Uri would scratch your face if he woke up from your loud voice, Dad!” he whispered to the storm guardian who seemed to have realized what was going on and who he actually is. Hinata then noticed the stares they were gaining from the people around them and asked his dad to continue their talk inside the store.</p>
<p>“R-Right. Wait, how am I your <em>Dad</em>?” Gokudera whispered in reply as they settled in a fairly hidden spot inside the convenience store. Hinata carefully placed Uri near the other one and inwardly laughed when he observed his kitten snuggling close to the other.</p>
<p>The little storm then looked at his dad who was just now staring at his direction. He noticed that the storm guardian was actually staring at his cap which he eventually took it off.  “Okay Dad, since you wanted me to, I’ll give you the shorter version” Hinata stated which finally caught Gokudera’s attention.</p>
<p>The little storm cleared his throat in preparation. “Once upon a time you realized you were in love with a woman and after years of cowardice, you finally asked her to be yours. Things were a little bumpy but, in the end, you married her and after a few years I was…” Hinata paused after seeing the storm guardian struggling to tell him something.</p>
<p>“I didn’t ask for that!” Gokudera finally blurted out, still minding his volume so as not to wake up the kittens sleeping on the table.</p>
<p>“But… you asked, ‘how am I your Dad?’ before we entered the store” the little storm innocently pointed out as he inwardly chuckled at how beet red his dad’s face was. ‘If only we were allowed to bring our phones back here, I would’ve taken his photo and sent it to his future self’ he thought as he was dismayed that he lost the perfect opportunity to tease his dad in the future. </p>
<p>“That was more like a rhetorical question!” Gokudera immediately replied which was only replied by an ‘I know’ by the little storm in between his muffled laughter.</p>
<p>“I was just messing with you, Dad” Hinata stated which helped the storm guardian relax. “But what I said was actually true” he purposely pointed out which eventually froze the storm guardian’s movements.</p>
<p>‘Wahh, this is fun’ the little storm thought to himself as he tried pinching himself to keep another fit of laughter from coming out. He knew that his Dad was easily annoyed, especially when he was being purposely played at.</p>
<p>Gokudera took a deep breath and smiled at him menacingly. “Are you done?” he asked as he observed the boy in front of him who was trying his hardest <em>again</em> to keep himself from laughing. He let the boy recover from laughing before pointing at his cap.</p>
<p>“Where did you get that?” the storm guardian asked as he tried reaching for it only to be snatched away by the little storm.</p>
<p>“It was a gift Mom gave me. Why?” Hinata replied as he then observed his Dad’s confused face. ‘Wait… don’t tell me you and Mom were already dating this early? She told me you guys only got together when she finished med school!’ --- is what the little storm wanted to ask but stopped himself at the last minute.</p>
<p>“N-nothing. I just thought that it was a bit familiar” Gokudera briefly replied. “Ah, it was a bit similar to the cap that I saw at a store yesterday” he then continued as relief washed over the little storm’s face.</p>
<p>“Ah, but this was hand sewn by Mom, Dad” the little storm pointed out. “She’ll also give you one later in the future” he then continued as he genuinely smiled at the light blush that appeared on his dad’s face.</p>
<p>Hinata then leaned back and inwardly sighed. He felt his eyelids getting heavier and heavier by the moment. The fatigue from teleporting was finally kicking in. He had thought he’d be able to endure a rerouted teleportation, but it seemed that the exhaustion he was feeling was far from normal.</p>
<p>‘I guess this is the consequence for the person doing the teleportation. I’ll make sure Sylvia-nee does the teleportation next time’ he thought to himself as he tried pinching his arms to wake him up.</p>
<p>Gokudera saw this and immediately stood up and went to the staff room. After a while, he then approached Hinata who was now sleeping along with the two kittens. The storm guardian tried waking him up, but the little storm continued on sleeping. He then carried Hinata on his back and laid him in a makeshift bed from the benches in the staff room.</p>
<p>“You’re lucky the owner was generous enough to allow you to sleep here during my shift” he whispered as he then turned around to transfer the two kittens beside him. Gokudera can’t help but smile at the sight in front of him. He then slowly closed the door and started his shift. </p>
<p>
  
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Sky at the Bakery</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><em>A child was born into a world naturally inclined to conflict, violence, and slaughter. Alongside this, he was born with a tremendous power he can wield, unsurmountable riches he can use and countless people he has at his disposal. At least that would be the child’s story if his world weren’t destroyed and rearranged beforehand. He was still born with power, riches and people; but attained humility and confidence that both contributed to his charm, patience and understanding that allowed him to lead, and weakness that pushed him to desperately survive.</em> <em>His world was still fragmented but the pieces are already formed. It was formed but….</em></p>
<p>‘That voice…’ Takuya’s brows furrowed as he unconsciously wrinkled his nose from the overwhelming smell of what seemed like parchment. He immediately opened his eyes and found himself in an unfamiliar place.</p>
<p>Near him, he caught sight of a person who seemed to be reading a book out loud. He then realized who the person was making him relax rather than panic since he was supposed to be at a different place entirely.</p>
<p>“You’re awake” the person stated while still browsing through the pages of the book. He looked at the woman dressed in a checkered suit, her multicolored pixie hair gaining his full attention.</p>
<p>‘She changed it again’ Takuya inwardly sighed. ‘I’m not even going to bother asking her for her reason this time. The last time I did, it ended up in a disaster’ he continued in his thoughts as he sat up and looked at his surroundings. The place was full of books that it nearly rivaled the collection of books they had at the Vongola HQ.</p>
<p>“I didn’t think you’d follow us here, Aunt” Takuya responded as he was then handed tea and a slice of chocolate orange cake.  </p>
<p>“Here, your favorite. Or at least this is what I remembered your mom told me” she stated as she then poured herself a glass of wine.</p>
<p>Takuya stared at the cake. He hesitated for a bit but eventually took a bite. He then smiled sadly. “I haven’t tasted this ever since she… died” he muttered in his breath.</p>
<p>The young sky looked beside him and observed the busy street outside. He then turned around and met her gaze. “I didn’t think you’d have a lot of time in your hands to travel also to the past” he stated with an arched brow.</p>
<p>The woman who has just finished her wine looked at the windowpanes beside him. “Even though you’re my favorite godson, I wouldn’t go so far as to follow you here” she explained as she watched the boy grinning at her. “My top client requested for a year supply of cake. I personally delivered the first order since I also need to clean things up here… temporarily” she continued.</p>
<p>‘Clean things up?’ the young sky asked himself as he sipped on his tea. ‘What could be that important for a person of your caliber to clean things up yourself?’ his thoughts continued only to be interrupted by a knock at the door.</p>
<p>“About time” the woman muttered. She commanded for the person to come in. Takuya glanced at the door and observed a barrier of mist flames as soon as it was opened. That observation partnered with the sweet scent that just permeated the area made him realize that the bakery his Aunt was running, were just on the other side.</p>
<p>“Chef, the replacements have arrived. We’re all ready” a dark-skinned girl with pink hair tied up in a bun then came in. The woman nodded and eventually laughed as soon she saw her godson’s face.</p>
<p>“Are you really that surprised?” the woman asked as she then instructed the girl that they’ll be leaving soon. The girl nodded in reply and acknowledged Takuya’s presence by formally greeting him as Vongola Secondo. The young sky just nodded as he observed her illusory eyes placed over her mask. He waited for the girl to exit the room before finally confronting his aunt.</p>
<p>“So, you’re actually hiding them here” he muttered out loud as his gaze still lingered on the door. “Who would’ve thought that the most sought group of people was actually working in a bakery” he stated as he now stared at her, waiting for her explanation.</p>
<p>“Don’t look at me like that, my dearest godson. I did this all for you, you know. Just give me the go signal and I’ll hand them over to your care” she stated with a teasing smile. “I am only their caretaker after all. Your father handed them to me years before you were born. I was supposed to return them to him, but he refused and insisted on letting them live a normal life so… I was stuck with them giving them that: a <em>normal </em>life” she continued as she helped herself to another glass of wine. She looked at her godson’s confused face and realized that Primo didn’t tell him about the Cervello being under her care for years now.</p>
<p>“My Dad asked you to take care of the Cervello?” Takuya muttered to himself as he then looked at his aunt “So, the cleaning up that you’re doing?”</p>
<p>She stood up and made her way to the door. “Your father asked me to temporarily transfer them somewhere else since he wouldn’t want his past self to have the idea of dealing with the Cervello this early. Besides, he needed him to focus on you guys first” she then explained.</p>
<p>As she was about to exit the room, Takuya called out to her. She quickly turned around and smiled at him “Take care of yourself, Takuya. You can always come here if you want to hide”</p>
<p>The young sky who was about to ask her more about the details just smiled and nodded in reply. He then mouthed ‘Thanks’ as he watched his godmother exit the room.</p>
<p>Takuya then looked up at the ceiling and thought of staying there until nightfall but eventually brushed the idea as soon as he saw the glass of wine on the table near him. ‘As usual she didn’t clean up’ He then looked at the now empty plate and cup beside him and thought that he needed to go out after all.</p>
<p>He stood up, brought the dishes with him, and went out of the room. After a good while of walking in the illusionary space he finally made it out and found himself inside a storage room filled with various jams.</p>
<p>‘So, these were all made by Aunt’ he thought to himself as he marveled at the sight before him. He hid his presence and went out of the room and into the kitchen that conveniently have no one in it. He then washed the dishes and eventually sat in one of the empty tables in the store and blended in with the other customers.</p>
<p>Takuya looked at the number of customers and smiled thinking that his aunt’s business was doing great as usual. As he was glancing from customer to customer however, he caught sight of a very familiar hairstyle. Takuya can’t help but let out a laugh as he observed the person fumbling at a piece of paper. He then approached the person from behind and peaked at the paper. There he read ‘Marshmallow Cake, Arianne of Giglio Nero’ which the attending worker apparently, wasn’t aware of.</p>
<p>He recalled his aunt saying she’d personally deliver it and so he eventually searched for it on the displayed cakes. His eyes then landed on that specific cake that was faintly surrounded with mist flames. ‘Why would she cover up her cakes? Is it because it’s not supposed to be out in the market yet?’ he thought to himself as he looked at the other cakes that was also faintly surrounded with mist flames.</p>
<p>“Miss, this is the cake he was talking about, we thought that it’s a marshmallow cake, but actually a strawberry shortcake. You can check that it is for Arianne of the Giglio Nero” he stated to the worker who eventually looked at the person beside him for confirmation.</p>
<p>“Dad, that’s the marshmallow cake” he whispered to Tsuna who was at the time more confused as to what the cake looks like rather than his observation of faint mist flames on some of the cakes.  </p>
<p>“Oh, is that so? Thank you very much!” Tsuna replied with visible relief on his face as he then nodded at the worker as confirmation. A few seconds passed and he was handed the cake already when he eventually paused in his tracks and quickly looked beside him, gaping.</p>
<p>“T-takuya?” Tsuna barely muttered out as he pointed his finger at him. The young sky smiled and nodded in reply. “Why are you in here? Where are the others? A-are you okay?” his father asked him as he was pulled into a corner.</p>
<p>“One, we were rerouted during our teleportation and I ended up here. Two, I checked my device and the others are here in Namimori as well. And three, don’t worry, Dad, I’m okay, just a bit exhausted” Takuya answered while still smiling wider than ever. The young sky can’t believe he was actually talking with the younger version of his dad. His smile did not last however, and he looked at him with worry. “A-am I allowed to call you ‘Dad’?” he asked while staring at Tsuna.</p>
<p>“We… discussed it among ourselves and thought that it would be good for you and the others to call us the same way you did in the future so as to at least help you live here comfortably so… yes that’s okay… as long as other people won’t hear it” Tsuna explained rather slowly due to him phrasing his words and another reason was that a familiar tail seemed to be coming out of Takuya’s ring.</p>
<p>The young sky followed the direction of his gaze and inwardly laughed. He then brought his hand in front of his chest. “Sorry Dad, Natsu’s also excited to see you. Don’t worry he knows better than to go out in a public place” Takuya stated as the both of them then watched the tail disappear into his ring. Right after it disappeared however, another tail appeared but this time from Tsuna’s ring. The both of them locked eyes and laughed. “I’m glad to meet you too, Natsu” the young sky responded. They then went out of the store and walked together in the busy streets.</p>
<p>Along the way, Takuya asked his dad why was he in the bakery and learned that Uncle Byakuran called the base and instructed Irie-sensei to go and get the cake but since he was busy, Tsuna volunteered to do it along with other errands for the party for later. It was also in that conversation that Takuya learned that his father was also aware that the shop was connected to the mafia, months after the battle of the arcobalenos and that he already asked Basil who was in Italy at the time to investigate, since he was afraid that whoever’s behind it was keeping an eye on him and his friends in Japan.</p>
<p>‘Godmother… you aren’t doing a good job at hiding. You’re not that effective compared to how your father does it’ he thought to himself as he reassured his father that it was really just a normal bakery and that they (him and his friends) frequents the store. Tsuna considered what the young sky said and remarked that he needed to tell this to Basil.</p>
<p>After a few more stories, Tsuna was a bit relieved and happy when he was able to relate bits and pieces from Takuya’s comments and stories to the details he memorized beforehand from his profile. He thought to himself however that a mere profile won’t be able to tell him what Takuya’s really like, and that he was glad that their first meeting started with him seeing the young sky, genuinely happy.</p>
<p>After a while, the two eventually reached the Sawada residence. Tsuna asked Takuya to wait outside since his mother would certainly be there and that no matter how clueless she is, she will definitely be curious about him since the both of them looked really similar. The young sky just nodded and briefly remembered his grandmother telling him that she found out about his father being a Mafia boss days before the inheritance ceremony. ‘Did we change the events because we came to the past?’ he asked himself as he then waited on the lawn.</p>
<p>A few moments passed and the door to the house opened. He quickly stood up, about to greet his Dad but paused when he saw a different person entirely. He stared at the girl and looked past her and saw his father coming out with grocery bags in both hands. “Hello, I’m Takuya. T-Tsuna’s close cousin. Nice meeting you!” he greeted with a smile as he then helped his dad with some of the bags.</p>
<p>Kyoko stared at the young sky for a while and smiled in return. “You really look like Tsuna” she then commented which was greeted by an awkward laugh coming from Tsuna. She then approached Takuya and whispered that she knows he was actually Tsuna’s son in the future, so he did not need to pretend to be his cousin when she’s around.</p>
<p>The young sky looked at his father questioningly and mouthed that he’ll explain it to him later. “You can also call me however you’d like. I don’t mind” Kyoko then continued, amused at the exchange she just witnessed from the two.</p>
<p>“T-then, nice meeting you, Aunt Kyoko” Takuya greeted to which the girl also greeted in reply. “Then, Tsuna-kun, Takuya-kun, I’ll see you later” she then bid her farewell. </p>
<p>“Dad, you didn’t tell me that Aunt Kyoko knows our identities. Do the other aunties know as well?” Takuya asked as he was waving her goodbye. He didn’t receive a reply from his dad who seemed to be still staring at the direction his Aunt Kyoko left. The young sky patiently waited until his father apologized because he wasn’t paying attention to what he was saying.</p>
<p>Takuya repeated his question and learned that the aunties seemed to have learned the bare minimum from Aunt Yuni: them coming from the future and that they are the guardians’ children. He also learned that they sneaked into the base at the break of dawn to prepare food for their welcoming party that they insisted on having which definitely surprised his dad and the other uncles who was still up at the time.</p>
<p>‘I guess godmother’s stories wasn’t all made up after all. They’re as stubborn as they get’ he thought to himself as they then walked into the streets again. The young sky looked at his dad who seemed bothered still about something and hesitantly asked if he’s okay. Tsuna looked at the young sky for a while and then stared in front of him in reply.</p>
<p>“Dad.... don’t tell me you’re disappointed that I didn’t call Aunt Kyoko ‘Mom’?” Takuya asked with a mischievous grin. What greeted his question however were his dad mumbling about as he covered his face with the grocery bag.</p>
<p>‘Oh no, did I step on a landmine?’ Takuya thought as he patted his father on the back while apologizing to him. After a while though, Tsuna eventually took a deep breath and as if he never heard his question, he just continued walking ahead of him.</p>
<p>The young sky can’t help but laugh secretly at how his dad reacted. He then caught up with him as they made their way to the base.</p>
<p>xxx</p>
<p>The sound of running water and occasional clanks from the plates filled the kitchen at the dawn of the next day. The numerous dishes piled on the sink were being cleaned by a girl who was still awake at the time. She was all alone in the kitchen, that is until the sun arcobaleno went to purposely meet with her.</p>
<p>“You know, there should’ve been a much better time to hold the welcoming party, but you agreed with their request, anyway” she stated as soon as Reborn stepped foot into the kitchen. “You’re surprisingly soft in ways I never expected, Uncle” she then continued while washing the dishes.</p>
<p>“And you’re surprisingly confident showing up in front of us last night. My past student was about to fight with you on the spot if it weren’t for the kids” Reborn stated as he then approached her.</p>
<p>“Hmm… Uncle Dino did not look like he was about to kill me. You, on the other hand tried to shoot me in the head but stopped if it weren’t for Aunt Chrome’s body that I am possessing” she stated as she then turned around meeting the arcobaleno’s gaze.</p>
<p>“Not really, I would’ve shot you right in the head, nonetheless… since you’re capable of evading it” Reborn stated with a smile.</p>
<p>“You’re giving me too much credit, Uncle” the girl laughed which after a while, eventually died down. “Then, why didn’t you?” she asked with a straight face.</p>
<p>Reborn sighed as he recalled Tsuna and Takuya who was both in different areas at the time but simultaneously locked eyes with him as if pleading to save his interrogation for later. “We’re not the only ones who noticed you visiting in and out for the duration of the party. The guardians only acted civil with you because their boss told them you’re family but they were obviously alarmed when you showed up” the arcobaleno stated as he finally stopped a few paces away from her.</p>
<p>“Ahh… first impressions really are important” she muttered to herself as she recalled the time she delivered the equipment. “So? If Primo acknowledged me as a family member, what are you here for then?” she then asked which gained a smile yet again from the arcobaleno.</p>
<p>“I’m here to confirm your identity” Reborn briefly replied. Silence then filled the room and after a while the girl turned her back from the arcobaleno.</p>
<p>“I’m a member of both Vongola and the Vindice. That’s all I have to say” she replied while washing the last of the dishes.</p>
<p>“Are you one of Secondo’s guardians?” Reborn asked which momentarily halted the girl from moving. She turned her head sideways and replied that it was not like him to ask a nonsensical question.</p>
<p>“I’m only acting as their support system from the future” she replied as she finally finished her task and eventually walked past him. “You can ask Secondo who I really am, and he’ll tell you the same thing” she continued as she then yawned.</p>
<p>“I need to let Aunt Chrome sleep now. She needs to be on top shape for the ceremony later” she stated as she then continued walking.</p>
<p>“Wait” Reborn called out as he then met her gaze “Tsuna wanted to ask you your name but he’s too tired to even keep himself awake” he then stated.</p>
<p>The girl smiled and after what seemed like a moment of hesitation, she eventually replied. “You can call me Crestia”</p>
<p>Reborn nodded in reply as she watched the girl finally show him a genuine smile. “Don’t worry Uncle, we’ll be meeting more in the future. Tell Primo good luck for the operation for later” Crestia stated as she waved him goodbye.</p>
<p>She then walked along the corridor and towards the residential area of the base. As she was about to turn into the corner however, she paused in her tracks as she sensed someone near her. She then smiled and turned around.</p>
<p>“Sorry Secondo but this body is really tired, so you only have a few minutes to chat with me” she then stated.</p>
<p>“So, I can’t negotiate with you now?” Takuya asked with a straight face. Crestia’s smile disappeared as soon as she heard him and quickly turned her back at him.</p>
<p>“If this is about before, then my answer’s still no” she firmly replied as she continued walking towards her Aunt Chrome’s room. Once she arrived, she took a deep breath and laid down as she slowly closed her eyes.</p>
<p>‘Don’t think that everything will go along your way, Secondo’ she thought to herself as she then opened her eyes, now staring at the familiar ceiling of her bedroom.</p>
<p>
  
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hello, I just want to thank you (yes you) for reading my fic. Just a quick background, I first posted this in ff.net 5 years ago and I had to stop since, well... life happened. I never expected that I'll get this far into my story that I did not get to finish back then (yes, what I did before was just the tip of the iceberg). </p>
<p>I have so (so) much more in store for you guys so, stay tuned for the next chapters! Cheers~</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. The True Sky</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A sunny morning greeted the group of kids dressed in Namimori Middle uniforms. Supposedly, they are new students, but due to the illusions they were ‘wearing’, they were greeted every now and then by some of their ‘schoolmates’ who are also on their way to school.</p>
<p>“As expected, Uncle Hayato and Uncle Takeshi are popular. No wonder we are all getting this attention” Ryu stated as he watched some of the girls on their path, giggling as soon as they caught sight of ‘Gokudera’ and ‘Yamamoto’</p>
<p>“I told you, Ryu-senpai. We should’ve walked on ahead than be with these two. I can’t believe we’re taking this long just to reach the school grounds” Takuya added as he inwardly laughed after watching Hinata return (again) the greeting of one of the girls.</p>
<p>Hinata felt a glare coming from beside him. “I am only trying to be polite! I was taught to treat girls this way, can you blame me for that?” he responded, meeting the pointed stare of the rain guardian who just grunted in reply.</p>
<p>Hikari who was walking beside the two heard the exchange and looked behind her. “I should’ve switched the illusions for the both of them after all. Their reactions to the fangirls of their fathers are the complete opposites” she stated, directing her gaze to Takuya and Ryu who unanimously nodded in reply.</p>
<p>“It’s okay Hikari-senpai. Their fangirls have no other choice but to deal with it, besides they seem to be enjoying the sudden change of personalities” Takuya replied as he then walked in between his two childhood friends who are now having a glaring contest in front of him. The young sky patted them both in the shoulder and reminded the two that they will be only doing this for today.</p>
<p>Hikari then went beside Ryu who now has his brow furrowed. “If you’re only going to hide your presence from other people while walking with us, you should’ve accompanied Kousei instead” the young sun pointed out as he then shivered.</p>
<p>The young mist laughed. “So, I’m not the only one who has been receiving his stare. I thought there were daggers coming at me every time we’re talking” Hikari turned around and saw the young cloud a good distance behind them, pouting. ‘What Sylvia-senpai pointed out about Kousei being the most upset one in this set-up was an understatement. He’s mad and I think I’m taking the full brunt of it’ Hikari thought as she gave the boy an apologetic smile.</p>
<p>She turned around again and looked ahead “I really want to accompany him but Senpai said that he won’t be able to keep quiet and will end up talking to me. Uncle Gokudera and Uncle Yamamoto’s interactions with the fangirls is one thing but Uncle Hibari suddenly talking with people and even with a smiling face at that will definitely confuse the students…”</p>
<p>“And is a setback for this operation” Takuya continued which made the air around them tense. The young sky noticed how all of them became serious at his comment. He laughed and looked ahead of him. “Given the present circumstances, we won’t probably be able to help that much but, let us all do our best” he stated as they then reached Namimori Middle.</p>
<p>The group then saw Eric at the gates who only spared them a glance and resumed his serious demeanor in front of the other students.</p>
<p>“Guess the drama club experience is paying off” Hinata stated as he watched the other students pass by him warily.</p>
<p>“Plus, he has a lot of experience talking with Uncle Kusakabe during their joined meetings between the CEDEF and the Disciplinary Committee in the past year” Ryu continued as they then pass by him.</p>
<p>“Ah, was that about the smuggling case of box weapons ---” Hikari pointed out but stopped when she saw the rain guardian change his direction. “Ah, wait, Yamamoto! Where are you going?” she asked, worry evident in her face.</p>
<p>Takeru walked towards Eric which left the young mist speechless. “Oi, Gokudera! Are you sure you explained the details of this operation to him?” she shouted out loud.</p>
<p>“Yes, I did Senpai! I explained it to him a million times and I’m positive he knows how he should be acting” the young storm replied with gritted teeth, half annoyed that he was given the task and the other half was because he was being pestered non-stop by Takeru in his thoughts.</p>
<p>“What ever happened to treating girls politely?” Takuya laughed which earned a glare from the young storm.</p>
<p>Ryu slowly walked behind Takuya and comforted Hikari by apologizing in behalf of Hinata who had mistaken her for a boy. The young mist curled her fists after hearing this and commanded Ryu to come back beside her.</p>
<p>The young sun saw that she was actually pissed and tried to calm her down by reminding her that she’s actually invisible to the other students. He even offered to save the strangling for later. Hikari however seemed to not have heard this and was about to charge at him when a girl suddenly appeared beside her.</p>
<p>“You’re all having fun” Arianne commented. “You should probably fetch the rain boy away from the Vice Chairman… Boss” she continued as she locked eyes with Takuya before waving them goodbye and walked on ahead of them.</p>
<p>“‘Rain boy… Boss…’ she sure did her research. She has the same aura with Chrome-sensei but she’s too cold” Ryu stated while Hinata and Hikari both stared at Takuya who did not even spare a glance at the girl’s retreating form.</p>
<p>“I’ll go fetch Takeru. You guys go on ahead” the young sky simply stated and walked away from them. The three inwardly sighed and just nodded in reply. Hinata and Ryu then went to their respective classrooms while Hikari swiftly made her way to the center of the school grounds.</p>
<p>In just a matter of seconds, the whole of Namimori Middle was converted to a large illusionary space.</p>
<p>xxx</p>
<p>A dirty blonde haired boy was busy commanding people over his radio as he looked at the various screens in front of him. This was the most awaited ceremony for the most prestigious mafia family and the heightened security measures were taken into consideration to avoid unexpected ambushes just like what happened in the past.</p>
<p>‘If only this ceremony was held for the sake of it being a ceremony, it would help calm my nerves a little’ he thought to himself. He was then reminded of the assurance that this ceremony will be a peaceful one from none other than the Neo Vongola Primo himself. The head of security then called out to him saying that he can go now to the hall now. He then looked at his watch and thought that it was also about time they arrived.</p>
<p>The boy nodded at the head of security in reply and went out of the room. Outside was an illusionary space that he maneuvered easily and ended up inside a garden maze. He started walking, turning occasionally at every corner until he reached a dead end. He lighted his CEDEF ring and after a few seconds, his flame was absorbed by the shrubs in front of him. After waiting for a minute, he took a step forward and went past through it. This led him into the tall hallways of the castle.</p>
<p>This castle holds a lot of history in particular for the second largest family allied to the Vongola. According to his sources, this castle is one of the prized possessions of the Veleno Family who is also the most distinguished noble family in Britain that is connected to the mafia. He then looked outside the tall window panes and can’t help but marvel at the large expanse of land there is considering that the island is artificially made.  </p>
<p><em>“The true sky is above us. The true sky is above us”</em> one of his subordinates then reported which interrupted his thoughts. </p>
<p>The boy sighed in relief and pressed on his earpiece “And we light our resolve in harmony” he then responded as he walked a bit faster towards the room where he was supposed to meet his friends.</p>
<p>‘The true sky… il vero cielo, the true embodiment of the flames of the sky’ he briefly thought to himself as he continued walking for a couple of minutes more before arriving at his destination.</p>
<p>The room was being guarded by a member of Veleno’s security team and a CEDEF member who both greeted him upon arrival. He then entered and a smile automatically appeared on his face as he observed the usual scenario in front of him. Lambo was animatedly talking to Chrome and Sylvia (whom he was introduced to back at the hotel). Ryohei was in a heated argument with Gokudera while Yamamoto was trying to intervene and stop the two.</p>
<p>“Basil-san, correct?” Kusakabe approached him as he reached out his hand to greet him. Basil reached out and bowed down in reply.</p>
<p>“You’re Kusakabe-dono. Thank you for taking care of us back in the future. I haven’t had time to thank you since I was busy managing CEDEF now that my master decided to take a break” he explained which gained only a somewhat embarrassed smile from the man. “How long have you been waiting?” he then continued as he scanned the room and found Hibari sipping on his tea.</p>
<p>“Ah, not that long. About 10 minutes maybe? We are just waiting for Sawada-san and we’re good to go” Kusakabe relayed.</p>
<p>“Ah, Sawada-dono arrived already. He should reach this room right about---” Basil was interrupted when the door to the room opened.  </p>
<p>“Sorry, an unexpected guest greeted me on the way that’s why we were late” Tsuna explained in between pants. Both the rain and sun guardians approached him and asked if he was okay. Tsuna nodded in reply as he sighed in relief upon seeing Hibari on the other end of the room.</p>
<p>The storm guardian approached him too but with sparkling eyes. “As expected of you, Boss!” Gokudera replied enthusiastically. “May I ask who it is?” </p>
<p>Tsuna hesitated for a bit. “The… Vindice” he replied slowly.</p>
<p>Upon hearing this, Hibari looked at him with interest while the others looked at him with alarm, that is except for Sylvia and Lambo. Tsuna saw this and explained that they literally just greeted and congratulated him for the ceremony today and that they’re not attending the event (the latter was directed mostly to Hibari).</p>
<p>The room went silent and was only filled with Lambo asking Sylvia if the Vindice was a brand of candy. Sylvia lightly laughed and patiently explained that the Vindice is a major organization allied to the Vongola. She then used a simple analogy to make her brother understand since he was obviously confused at what she just said.</p>
<p>Aside from Lambo however, Tsuna was also confused since he recalled that the Vindice was a complementary ally to the family and not a major one just like the Cavallone. He was about to ask what she meant by this but was then interrupted when someone called out to him.</p>
<p>“You’ve arrived, Tsuna!” Jane beamed and proceeded to pat him on the head. “I hope that this castle is to your liking” she continued as she then curtsied to the other guardians who she was meeting for the first time.</p>
<p>“A… princess?” Lambo muttered out loud which mirrored the thoughts of most of them. Jane understood why he commented as such since she was wearing a crystal embellished green-gradient gown since she too had some unexpected guests a few hours ago.</p>
<p>She smiled at the thunder guardian and rummaged something on her dress pocket. From it she took a pack of grape flavored candies and handed it to Lambo. “Your sister told me you love these” she whispered which then made the kid squeal. She then looked at them and excused herself since she still needed to change for the ceremony.</p>
<p>She then patted Tsuna again on the head. “See you on the ceremony, little brother” she remarked with a smile as she went out of the room.</p>
<p>“Ah, y-yes, see you too, Jane…nee” Tsuna replied, trying his hardest not to make it sound awkward.</p>
<p>The bucking bronco who just arrived heard the exchange happen and paused in his tracks. ‘She’s really taken a liking to Tsuna’ he thought to himself which then made him laugh. Romario who was beside him asked him if there’s anything wrong.</p>
<p>“It seems I have a rival to Tsuna’s older sibling now” he remarked which then made the old man smile.</p>
<p>Dino looked ahead and watched the retreating form of the woman. He then whispered something to Romario which he eventually relayed to one of his subordinates. He nodded at the bucking bronco who just smiled in reply. They then approached the group who seemed to have been asking Tsuna about the Veleno family. He then offered for them to continue their discussion after the ceremony since they only have a few minutes left before the event.  As soon as he said this, the atmosphere in the room became serious.</p>
<p>Basil then directed the group into a hidden passageway connected to the room they were at. After about a few minutes of walking, they reached the entrance to the great hall of the castle. Dino, Romario, Kusakabe and Basil bid them farewell as they separated from the group and used a different passage that led them directly to the Ninth and Reborn who were waiting at the very front of the hall.</p>
<p>Tsuna took a deep breath. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t nervous. Even though he had resolved to claim the Vongola, there was still a little voice in his head telling him that he can’t do this after all or that it’s too much of a hurdle for him. He turned around and glanced at his friends who smiled and nodded at him.</p>
<p>‘But… whenever I try to step back, they are always there telling me that they’ve got my back. That’s enough for me to continue and face this head on’ Tsuna’s expression changed. His guardians saw this and they all too mirrored their boss’ resolve.</p>
<p>The huge doors opened. As soon as they step foot in the hall, all eyes were directed at them. Various mafia families, big and small have come to pay their respects to this generation of Vongola that was said to embody the true sky.</p>
<p>Tsuna saw the stares, he can tell that some of it reflected admiration mixed with jealousy while some show curiosity that was laced with contempt. His past self would’ve cowered from this overwhelming pressure, but he realized that he can actually stand his ground when he had an unwavering goal in mind.</p>
<p>“That Tsuna, he looks refreshed” Reborn stated with a huge smile. Timoteo who also thought of the same thing laughed and can’t help but be proud at how the boy has grown. They watched the crowd pave a way for them as they begin heading towards the front of the hall.</p>
<p>Sylvia who was hiding her presence as she walked beside them, marveled at how big the hall is and what’s even more amazing was that it was jampacked with people. ‘I wouldn’t expect less from the grandest event ever recorded at the Vongola Family’s history’ she thought as she then looked at Lambo who was being held by Chrome. Her brother was enjoying all the attention and this did not surprise her at all since she recalled him telling her once in the future that as long as he’s with the gang, he feels safe and has nothing to worry about.  </p>
<p>When they reached the front, Tsuna and his guardians lined up. Timoteo and his guardians then lighted their flames followed by the different heads of the mafia families. All of their subordinates then followed suit and it was not long after when the great hall was eventually filled with various flames emanating from their rings.</p>
<p>Sylvia watched the lighting of rings that replaced the traditional passing of blood. She then recalled what she read from one of the accounts of a mafia member, retelling how the new practice came to be:</p>
<p>“By that time, everyone in the mafia have long obtained rings and countless of weapon boxes. These items brought advantages to battles that it was not surprising that it became popular in the underground world. Vongola Ninth knew of this and called the various heads of the allied families in a meeting and told us that he is willing to give us a more powerful ring, for the sake of the family. We didn’t doubt the boss’s sincerity and accepted it gratefully.</p>
<p>A few months after, we were all called again for another meeting. The Ninth seemed to be in a good mood. From what I’ve heard from the other families before the meeting, the Vongola Tenth came to visit the HQ. Some of us belonging to the few small families were curious as to what kind of person the Tenth is because from hearsays, he was way different from the previous bosses. On the other hand, the other heads of the families ranked considerably higher than us in the Vongola’s hierarchy voiced out their disappointment at the rings that were given to them. The air in the room became tense while the Ninth just smiled in reply. It was at that point on that we came to know how the rings really worked.</p>
<p>One of the Ninth’s guardians explained that the rings will only show its true potential when it is used according to the will of the current boss. He then informed us that months from now, another inheritance ceremony will be held for his successor. The Ninth confessed that the rings were more of a bribe rather than gifts.</p>
<p>Most of the heads who were in the meeting have all attended the ceremony that was ambushed before, so they agreed with the arrangement. Some heads straightforwardly disagreed and simply left the ring on the table but still stayed until the very end of the meeting. Others were unsure. The Ninth said he understood our decision, but we can still change our mind once we receive the document regarding the reconstruction of the alliances in the Vongola.</p>
<p>The day of the ceremony came, and we were all called again in a room at a hotel. The Tenth or the now Neo-Vongola Primo held the meeting and stated what he wanted to do with the family and that we are free to turn back now if our vision did not align with his. If those who disagreed with him decided to stay however, he promised that he would try his best to persuade them. Some of the heads who disagreed eventually stayed and attended the ceremony mostly because they can’t give up the prestige that the Vongola gives them and not because they believed that the Primo can actually persuade them.</p>
<p>The lighting of the rings showed the resolve of each person there but there is no certainty that all were aligned for the Vongola. Primo seem to know this but his flame that burned brighter than anyone else’s in the room seemed to have wavered the thoughts of those who are against him”</p>
<p>Sylvia agreed with how Primo’s flame was described as she watched the majestic sky flames that emanated along with the other flames of the sky that is as equally pure as their boss’s.</p>
<p>This is Tsuna’s resolve as a boss. His flame that is resonating and shared with his guardians will forever be a momentous occasion in the history of Vongola.</p>
<p>She then glanced at the crowd before them and smiled. “They too will someday resonate with his flame” she muttered out loud as she continued marveling at the continuing surge of flames in the great hall.</p>
<p>Her train of thought was interrupted however when she heard someone report over her earpiece. She glanced at Chrome and gave her the signal.</p>
<p>Tsuna saw the exchange that happened and smiled. ‘Thank goodness, the plan was a success’</p>
<p>
  
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hello everyone! Apologies for the late update. My work stockpiled and I was busy trying to finish it early to give me time to finalize my ideas on recreating the inheritance ceremony, but guess what? It still took me ages to polish my ideas. I will try to update early again, I promise.</p>
<p>Anyways, I really hope you liked this! Stay tuned for the succeeding chapters~ ^^</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Operation Illusion</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was the dawn of the day of the inheritance ceremony. The sun had just started rising letting a plain hospital room be illuminated slowly every passing minute. Jane found herself staring at the ceiling. It was her first time to represent her family to an event as big as this since she wasn’t able to do so in the past. She was supposed to attend the ceremony before but couldn’t because of an internal strife in the family.</p>
<p>She sighed and recalled the time she met the Ninth back when the ceremony was brought up in one of the meetings that was held with the other bosses. She requested for her family to be the one to host the event. This is in a way their apology for the family’s lack of support for the Vongola in the past years despite it being the second largest in the alliance and the sudden disappearance in the first inheritance ceremony arranged for the Tenth. She finally persuaded the Ninth by expressing that among everything else, hosting the event is her first personal gift as a boss.</p>
<p>“And to think I ended up in a hospital bed rather than handling the final touches myself” the Veleno heiress muttered in dismay as she closed her eyes. The moment she did however, a familiar blonde-haired guy appeared that made her furrow.</p>
<p>‘I guess I should thank him for handling most of the matter. I wasn’t expecting much but he’s actually more capable than I remember him to be… He was way different back when we were at school” she thought to herself. After a few moments, she was reminded of her current arrangement with the guy which then made her pinch the bridge of her nose.</p>
<p>“Jane, this engagement will only last for a few months, bear with it” she muttered to herself again and again, as if reciting a mantra to keep her annoyance at bay. She was grateful enough that Dino’s family seemed to understand the situation that it was all but a misunderstanding that have gone way out of their control; but the nobles… it was them that annoyed her the most. The day after the news of her engagement got out, congratulatory messages came in swarms and even though they tried to hide it for the sake of propriety, the letters reeked of speculations and questions regarding her ‘fiance’s’ wealth, connections, power, educational status, looks, so on and so forth. Jane can’t help but grimace at the nature of the nobles that she learned to live with. Her gaze then swept pass the bouquet of poison ivy on her side table.</p>
<p>“At least not all the nobles behave that way” she stated with a smile as she recalled her best friend that came visiting the other day. The smile on her face did not last however as she quickly peeled her eyes away from the bouquet. ‘Still, she’s the reason why I was engaged all of a sudden. Now that I think about it, she didn’t even apologize. I swear the next time---’ her thought process was interrupted. She quickly looked at the door.</p>
<p>She sat up and continued staring at it. After about a minute of waiting, she sighed “You know, I don’t mind having a visitor this early in the morning” she called out. No one responded but after a few moments, the door opened. Jane looked at the newcomer who slowly made her way in front of her. The girl had her head down and was dressed in what seemed like a lab gown.</p>
<p>“You’re Sylvia, right? Vongola Secondo’s thunder guardian. I was told about you guys by the Bucking Bronco a while back. Nice to meet you” she stated with a smile. Sylvia who looked up almost immediately after hearing this, was shocked but then later was relieved.</p>
<p>“Sorry for visiting you this early… Ma’am. I was asked to check in on you by Diane and Jack. They said that you already met them and that they---” Jane laughed cutting her off.</p>
<p>“You don’t have to be so formal in front of me, you know” Jane responded as she then reached for a book beside her. “Your profiles have my emblem after all. That alone should mean that we’re close right?” she continued as she browsed through the book, stopped at a page and took out a piece of paper. Jane asked her to come close which she hesitantly did. Upon reaching her, Sylvia saw the Veleno family’s emblem drawn into the paper.</p>
<p>“I am planning to give this only to those who are in the inner circle of the family once I assume the boss position in a few months” Jane explained while still looking at the paper.</p>
<p>Sylvia smiled. “And you certainly did it, A-Auntie” the thunder guardian responded which earned a relieved expression from the other. ‘Though it was actually your son who gave me mine months before Takuya and the others got theirs from Uncle Dino. Jack did say that Auntie agreed that’s why I accepted it’ she thought to herself as she eventually took a trip down the memory lane recalling her first encounter with the twins. </p>
<p>The Veleno heiress noticed that the girl seemed to be deep in thought that she tried calling her name several times just to get her attention back. Sylvia was embarrassed for behaving the way she did that she quickly apologized. Jane just laughed in return and told her that she’s fully recovered, and that Jack and Diane doesn’t have to worry. “It was just the recurring fever that made me extend my stay here in the hospital” she then added.</p>
<p>Out of curiosity she then asked Sylvia about the twins and their connection to her family. The thunder guardian immediately and (tried to) plainly respond that they are her family’s treasures. Jane paused after hearing this which eventually made Sylvia nervous because she was afraid that she might have hinted her future. After a while however, Jane smiled sincerely.</p>
<p>“No wonder I found the both of them so adorable. I hope I can see them again” she then remarked which then brought a smile on Sylvia’s face aside from being relieved. </p>
<p>“Oh, that reminds me. Will you attend today’s ceremony with the others? I can arrange some of our illusionists to help you attend it without being seen by the other families. I haven’t actually met Primo yet, but I think he’ll be okay with this” Jane then stated as she was about to reach out for her phone.</p>
<p>“We’d love to attend, Auntie, but… we were given the task of attending school in their stead. Reborn-sensei told us that the absences of Primo and his guardians are slowly arising some suspicions from their teachers and even some of the students so we… will try to at least pacify it” Sylvia explained which earned a look of understanding from the other.</p>
<p>After a few more talks, the thunder guardian then excused herself by telling that she needed to check the devices back in the laboratory. Once she was out of the hospital, she walked and headed straight to the Namimori Base. ‘I’m sorry for lying Auntie. We were asked to keep the operation a secret after all, even from you’ she thought to herself as she then took out her flame device.</p>
<p>Once she was inside the base, she muttered ‘twins’. After a while, her device confirmed connection. “Ivy’s already recovered” she then stated. A prompt confirming that her message was delivered then appeared.</p>
<p>“Okay, Task 1 done” she muttered as she headed towards the equipment room, making sure to carefully walk past the rooms of her friends. She was sure that all of them should still be sleeping, that is except for Takuya who had just gotten out of his room.</p>
<p>The young sky greeted her and quickly made his way to the room opposite his. He opened a storage box and pure storm flames appeared which was then absorbed by the inscriptions on the door. After a few seconds, the door opened. Takuya then quickly went inside. Sylvia realized that Hinata was supposed to be the one teleporting Arianne and Eric together with the members of Simon, Giglio Nero and Gesso Families for the ceremony today since they weren’t able to travel due to the ‘surprise’ she gave them. She slowly approached the room and peaked inside.</p>
<p>“Ah! Sylvia-nee, have you heard?” Takuya suddenly stated as soon as she locked eyes with him. “We have a surprise visitor for today’s event!” the young sky continued, his voice louder than before which confused the thunder guardian. Sylvia then looked at the still sleeping storm and after a few moments, she realized what he was trying to do.</p>
<p>“Ah, is that so? I thought she won’t be able to make it today? Are you talking about <em>some girl from one of the allied families?</em>” Sylvia responded as she purposely stressed her last words dramatically. The young sky inwardly laughed at this as he stared at the still sleeping form of his childhood friend.</p>
<p>“Ah~ Don’t call her ‘some girl’ Sylvia-nee. Call her by her name~” he then answered which made Sylvia stifle her laughter. Takuya then approached Hinata’s bed and bent down. “Hinata-chan, Crestia’s waiting for you~” the young sky whispered.</p>
<p>Hikari and Ryu who had just woken up approached Sylvia who in turn explained to them briefly about what was happening. They then saw Takuya walk out of the room leaving the door slightly closed.</p>
<p>“Gokudera’s not yet up?” Hikari asked in between yawns. The young sky did not answer and just smiled in reply.</p>
<p>“Do you want me to do the teleportation with Sylvia-nee instead? I can---” Ryu was cut off with what seemed like a muffled shout coming from the young storm’s room. Takuya then heard Hinata shout his name followed by a lot of swear words that he eventually closed the door to the room entirely.</p>
<p>The young sky smiled. “Don’t worry senpais, he’s fully awake” he simply stated as he bid them farewell saying that he was on morning duty today. Sylvia can’t help but laugh while Hikari and Ryu just looked at each other, unaware of what kind of waking up method their young boss had resorted into doing.   </p>
<p>xxx</p>
<p>Four figures appeared on the lawn of a run-down mansion located in a forested area in Italy. It was still dawn but the festivities that the small town was having just a few streets away aided with their search of the place.</p>
<p>“This is so troublesome” one of the figures stated as he fixed his glasses. He looked at the mansion indifferently as his memories of the place started flowing in his mind. ‘To think that I’d find myself stepping into this place again’ he thought to himself as he then watched the glass windows shatter one by one. He had expected this to happen and quickly looked beside him.</p>
<p>“Ken, we need to be quiet if we want to finish what we came here for” he reminded the guy who was obviously enjoying throwing more rocks at the mansion.</p>
<p>“Ah?! The stupid runt would have done his magic by now, Kakipi. You don’t need to sweat every little thing!” Ken replied as he successfully shattered another glass window.</p>
<p>“Ahhh… Your ancestors will get mad at you, you know” the child with an apple head called out. Ken stopped what he was doing upon hearing this and approached the kid.</p>
<p>“Ancestors? Do you think I care, huh?!” he shouted as he watched the child cover his ears as he ran away from him. A look of triumph appeared on Ken’s face upon seeing him scurry away, but this did not last however as he heard the child laugh.</p>
<p>“I know it’s hard for you to keep it down, but I can’t do my “magic” here since I’m lacking something” the child stated which earned Ken’s attention despite his annoyance.</p>
<p>“I need you to dance in a circle as a gorilla while pounding your chest while shouting ‘pineapple head’ every time I say, ‘Hail’, is my instructions clear?” the kid explained seriously while pacing in front of the guy. As soon as he finished his instructions however, he was stabbed on the head with a trident.</p>
<p>“Ah… Master, I thought you were still busy reminiscing your past just like glasses guy here so I’m doing my best to keep the dog from barking at your beloved family mansion” Fran plainly replied as he then tried playing fetch with Ken who quickly changed into a lion about to lunge at him. He paused however when a rain of needles infused with rain flames came at the kid at full speed. The needles then landed on Fran’s apple head. </p>
<p>“You really have the talent to tick people off” Mukuro replied as he looked at Chikusa who has now composed himself after his attack. Ken on the other hand was about to land a hit on Fran but stopped midway when Mukuro commanded him to scout the area. The blonde guy followed suit while Mukuro and Chikusa went inside the mansion.</p>
<p>“I should’ve gone back to France with the greedy woman or I could’ve stayed in Japan with the pineapple woman” Fran muttered as he also entered the place.</p>
<p>The mansion was the same as they remembered it to be, just that it was more deteriorated to the point that it looked like the place was haunted which would explain the accounts of the locals. The Estraneo Family wasn’t really one for furnishing and making the mansion comfortable enough for its occupants, what mattered was to bring back the family’s name to the limelight.  </p>
<p>“I’ll check upstairs” Chikusa then stated as soon as they reached the corner. Fran tried to sneak and also go with him but ended up again being stabbed with the trident in the head.</p>
<p>“You’re coming with me” Mukuro commanded as he smiled at the kid, menacingly.</p>
<p>“Master, the glasses guy is distracted. I’m afraid that he won’t be able to last even a minute without my help” Fran explained with a straight face. After a few seconds however, rain needles again appeared on his head. The mist guardian sighed at this and ended up dragging the kid around the mansion.</p>
<p>After about half an hour they reached a room that was filled with various devices and equipment. Mukuro instructed Fran to wait outside and proceeded to examine the area. The place was suspiciously the same when they left it years back. “Someone’s playing with us” he muttered as he then looked back.</p>
<p>“Just like what the Vindice brat said. No one’s here, they already left” Ken who had just arrived reported. Chikusa also nodded at this as they both stared at the familiar room in front of them. When they were about to step in however, Fran quickly blocked them.</p>
<p>“I… told you something like this would happen, Master” Fran stated, his voice slightly shaking. Chikusa and Ken who was still confused looked up and saw Mukuro still standing calmly inside the room. A few moments passed and nothing changed aside from occasional frustrating comments coming from the kid.</p>
<p>Ken who was about to lost it tried to enter the room again but this time he was blocked by an invisible wall “Be good and stay seated… while you wait, Doggy-san” Fran commented, his uneasiness evident from his voice as he hesitantly walked inside the room. The two was confused and just stared at what seemed like still figures of the kid and the mist guardian.</p>
<p>A few hours passed and nothing changed. They can now clearly see the mansion due to the sun rising. Ken tried breaking the wall several times, but it did not leave even a scratch on it. “That stupid runt, why did he leave this here?” he muttered in annoyance as he tried punching it again.</p>
<p>“Ken, let’s just wait for them. It seems that this only affects them… besides if this barrier’s still here it means that they’re doing okay” Chikusa who was now seated in a corner stated calmly as he then closed his eyes. The blonde guy was annoyed after hearing this, but he mentally agreed. He then looked at the room that was still the same except this time the runt and Mukuro-san have now disappeared.</p>
<p>xxx</p>
<p>Hikari found herself staring at the sky. It was her only source of entertainment since she was stuck inside the illusionary space she created. For most illusionists, being countered by other illusions is their worst nightmare. For her however, walking her way out of her own illusionary space or worse, being stuck in it for hours is something that she would categorize as a pit of hell. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she recalled the first time she was introduced to the technique by Mammon.</p>
<p>She remembered the mist arcobaleno telling her that making an illusionary space is one of the most basic skills an illusionist should learn. It was so basic that even a beginner can create it, knowingly or unknowingly. If the illusions an illusionist can wield gets stronger, there would be less chances of it being destroyed. Now the catch here is, there is a theory that a perfect illusionary space can be created, a space that cannot be destroyed nor escaped by anyone other than the caster.</p>
<p>‘Of course, it was only a theory back then but thanks to Fran-sensei, I’m in this state now’ she thought to herself as she then recalled her training days with the said person. From what she remembered, her Sensei was able to apply the theory with a simple idea, ‘why not let yourself be scared when you make your own illusionary space?’ is the summarized version of the retelling of his story back when he was just a kid and it was his first time entering the illusionary space that his Master created. It was basically this memory that helped him make the almost perfect space.</p>
<p>The young mist saw images of her failed attempts flash in her mind until he recalled her Sensei telling her that her driving force was weak. Hikari then pinched the bridge of her nose as she recalled what happened next: days that turned to months that then turned to years of trying that eventually made her hate illusionary spaces. “And the irony of it all, that hate allowed me to actually make one a bit stronger than Sensei” she muttered as she then opened her eyes.</p>
<p>“I’m grateful for my training with Fran-sensei but I really can’t stand being stuck in here for a few more hours” she muttered as she made herself a rifle and began shooting anything that she wishes to bore a hole in.</p>
<p>“You’re having fun” a voice then called out from her earpiece.</p>
<p>“Sylvia-senpai, when will this torture end?” the young mist asked. She then heard the girl on the other side laugh in reply. Hikari rolled her eyes at this and proceeded to target a moving object. A few moments passed and as she was about to make herself a canon, she heard static on the other end.</p>
<p>“Hikari, are you there? Just 5% left before we match the flame signature” Irie who was also connected in the same network then stated which effectively made the young mist gear up for what’s to come. A few more minutes and she heard him reporting that they matched the flame already and the coordinates will be shown right away.</p>
<p>She hurriedly brought out her flame device only to frown at what she received. “Two? One at Namimori and the other at the ceremony. But I only received one flame signature from Mukuro-sensei…” she muttered, confusion evident on her face.</p>
<p>Irie who was still on the line heard this. He then stated that the extraction of flame signatures may have been faulty since the technology of doing so was not yet polished. “The safest route for the operation is to capture them both” he stated while he tried to endure his stomach pain.</p>
<p>Hikari nodded at this and focused on her nearest target, which was to her surprise, an easy feat since she didn’t need to fetch and lure it into her space. She watched the coordinate then disappear on her device. A few moments passed and she began to mentally confirm if her space is still connected with the Veleno palace where the ceremony was currently being held.</p>
<p>A look of relief then appeared on her face. “Chrome-Sensei’s doing a good job channeling my space even though it’s her first time… and to think that we only talked about this yesterday” she thought to herself as she stared at the other coordinate on her device.</p>
<p>Hikari took a deep breath. She closed her eyes and as soon as she did, hundreds of figures appeared in front of her. She looked beside her and saw what she assumed to be the figures of Primo and his guardians. Looking ahead, she sighted her target and easily paved her way towards it.</p>
<p>‘Are you the one responsible for what happened in our future?’ Hikari’s voice echoed as she stared at the figure for a good while. She then turned around and sighed as she went back to where she originally came from. She looked back and saw that her space had already engulfed the figure altogether.</p>
<p>She then glanced beside her as she opened her line of communication with her Senpai. “Targets secured” she reported briefly as she watched Sylvia gave Chrome-Sensei the signal. The connection was then cut off.</p>
<p>Upon opening her eyes, she was then greeted again by the sky, but this time, it was the real one.</p>
<p>
  
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hello everyone! I know I promised last chapter to update early but here I am updating a week late. Sorry for that. I was knocked out to the extreme by fatigue that I was only able to update now. I won't be making any promises regarding my update schedule but stay tuned for more chapters~</p>
<p>By the way, what are your thoughts on this chapter? Cheers!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. A Private Banquet</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>In one of the rooms of the Veleno palace, the young sun guardian found himself in front of a mirror, adjusting his tie. He just finished changing into his suit that was prepared by none other than Aunt Jane herself. He sighed. They weren't expecting to be fetched by a helicopter after school and end up on the island to attend a private banquet.</p>
<p>He looked at himself again on the mirror and his gaze landed on his hair. "Right, I got a haircut last week, so I won't tie it up this time. Should I wax it instead?" he pondered for a while but eventually decided to let his messy hair down. He exited his room and started walking down the hall. He knocked at the other rooms in the same hallway, but it seems that his friends already headed out. He looked ahead of him and thought that it has been a while since he attended a banquet.</p>
<p>'I didn't know there were two banquets held after the inheritance ceremony though' he wondered as he tried recalling what the history books stated. After the ceremony, a grand banquet was prepared that was attended by all of the families present during the event. It was not indicated there however that another banquet restricted only to the closest family members of Primo was also held afterwards.</p>
<p>"No wonder Uncle Tsuna looked a bit tired when we passed by him. He must've been busy talking with the heads for hours now" he muttered as he then turned the corner and reached the hall where the supposed room for the banquet was supposed to be held. Once he approached the door, he can already hear Lambo's laughter as he thanked everyone for coming to his celebration.</p>
<p>'You never change, Uncle. Even in the future you tend to hog the spotlight in every private family celebration' he thought as he laughed inwardly. He was about to enter when he heard his name. He turned around and saw Hikari running fast in her black heels as she carried a part of her long dress. The mist guardian upon reaching him, placed her hand on his shoulder as she tried to talk in between pants.</p>
<p>"I need… your coat" Hikari demanded as she proceeded to take it off him. Ryu however immediately grabbed his coat back and asked why on earth she needed it for. The young mist annoyingly responded for him to just look at her and demanded to tell her what he sees.</p>
<p>"I… see you in an off-shouldered long dress. The black and purple hues are mixed in well which makes it look like the sky during twilight. The fit of the dress is not too tight nor is it too loose, it accentuates your figure really well. Also, I love how the designer-" Ryu paused as soon as he heard the girl clear her throat.</p>
<p>'There it is. That's his look every time he sees a possible reference for a dress that he can use in his comics' Hikari thought as she then crossed her hands and gave him a questioning glance. "Of course, the dress looks good! I'm asking what I look like when I wear it" she finally demanded after seeing that he was utterly confused as to what she really wanted to hear.</p>
<p>"Err… you look… human?" Ryu slowly answered which only earned a sigh from the girl who muttered that she actually picked the simplest out of all the dresses she was provided with. Hikari then held out her hand, again demanding his coat. The young sun guardian looked at her still with a confused face which only annoyed the girl even further.</p>
<p>"Are you kidding me? I need your coat so that I can look a little bit more presentable! I always see Diane-nee with one so maybe I can do it too" she finally exclaimed as she started to reach for his coat. Ryu on the other hand, resisted again and muttered something in his breath.</p>
<p>Hikari who was hungry and was even hungrier after smelling the food inside, was on the point of shouting at the guy since they were standing outside the room for five minutes already. She took a deep breath which helped her calm down a bit. She then looked at Ryu who was keeping his head down and patiently asked him for his coat again, but what she received was only another unintelligible mutter. This went on for another few minutes and when she was about to blow, someone called out to them.</p>
<p>"Hikari, Ryu, what are you guys doing here?" Sylvia asked while tying her hair up in a bun. The two then looked at the woman who was dressed in a cream-colored mermaid dress. She then approached them and patted them both in the head.</p>
<p>"I'm glad I'm not the only one with a messy hair. Aunt Jane should be able to forgive us for doing her clothes injustice" the thunder guardian stated as she quickly entered the room, after which she excitedly called out her brother's name.</p>
<p>"H-Hikari, were you able to save that?" Ryu asked while the young mist only nodded.</p>
<p>"Don't worry, I already sent Jack-nii several images and even a whole video if he wanted to" Hikari explained as she mentally noted how effortlessly beautiful their senpai is. 'I wouldn't expect less from a Bovino. Uncle Lambo has a lot of admirers and even to this day he's still one of the most sought bachelors- wait a minute' she then looked beside her.</p>
<p>"Finally, you're acting normal. Now, where were we?" she stated, effectively calling Ryu's attention that was initially directed at the details of Sylvia's dress. The young sun sighed as he quickly went behind her and pushed her towards the room.</p>
<p>"You look… g-good in it. You don't need a coat. It'll only ruin the dress" he immediately supplied. Hikari then argued why didn't he mention it the first time around to which he insisted that he actually did, just that she didn't hear it. A look of confusion appeared on the young mist's face but later on forgot about it as she heartily ate food along with Sylvia and the other Aunties that were also invited in the banquet.</p>
<p>xxx</p>
<p>Lively music filled the room all through out the night, that is except for that one time when Reborn insisted on playing a romantic song since the banquet was also held in celebration for the recent engagement of Dino and Jane which brought all of the occupants in the room surprised, that is except for the kids.</p>
<p>Amidst the cheering, the two however weren't embarrassed and started to dance together as if they already know that this was going to happen. Half into the song, they then asked the guests to dance together with them and in no time, the floor was filled with interesting couples.</p>
<p>Hinata yawned and looked at his friend beside him who seemed to be enjoying the music. He can't help but be amazed at how he looked so composed now when the both of them were troubled a while back after finding out that there were two individuals that were caught. There are a lot of cases to consider but the most possible explanation would be a technical malfunction in the identification of the signature; this or one other case that has the least probability of happening: the enemy teleporting to the past.</p>
<p>He then recalled what was initially planned after the operation. They were supposed to sit tight and wait for Uncle Mukuro to interrogate the two individuals since Primo wanted to respect the mist guardian's request. Still, even though he knows that the space is unbreakable because he personally experienced being trapped in one, he can't help but feel impatient and anxious.</p>
<p>"Are you going to ask me for a dance?" Takuya asked which interrupted his thoughts. The young storm only sighed in reply. As he was about to convince him again to do a forced entry at the space, he caught someone who was sneaking in some glances at his friend. He then locked eyes with the young sky who was still waiting for him to talk.</p>
<p>"I don't know what happened to the both of you, but I personally can't take the atmosphere whenever you end up sulking-" Hinata paused as he watched Takuya's expression obviously asking him when did he ever sulk. The young storm rolled his eyes at this and then pointed at the opposite direction.</p>
<p>"Go or else I will be teleporting you both into one of the prison cells of the palace. That would be a fitting place for the two of you, stubborn heads to reconcile" Hinata threatened the young sky who only laughed in reply.</p>
<p>Takuya inwardly sighed, he knew full well that he was thinking about sneaking into the space, but he actually chose to talk about another topic instead. 'I guess I can try' he thought as he slowly walked his way to the girl who seemed to be enjoying watching her family members dance.</p>
<p>A few paces left before reaching her and they eventually locked eyes. Arianne quickly averted her gaze and continued watching her Uncle Kikyo teaching her Uncle Zakuro how to dance and of course, her mom and dad dancing together was the loveliest thing she could ever witness tonight.</p>
<p>"May I have this dance?" the young sky asked the girl who was dressed in a white, knee-length dress. Arianne however acted as if he wasn't there. This did not surprise the young sky however as he then walked in front of her, effectively blocking her view. What met his gaze was a questioning stare from the girl.</p>
<p>"I don't know why you're not alarmed but—" Takuya pointed down below at the circular platform each of them has on their feet. "- Hinata will be sending us in a prison cell if you don't accept my invitation. Also, since I did something to him this morning, he might even send us somewhere more isolated" the young sky continued as he observed a conflicted look on Arianne's face.</p>
<p>After a while, Takuya eventually scooped her hand and led her into the floor as they then began dancing. A look of protest appeared on Arianne's face and was about to tell him something, but then she stopped. She just looked past his shoulders as she absentmindedly danced. This went on for quite a while until she can't help but notice the occasional grunts from the young sky. She looked up only to panic at his paled face.</p>
<p>Arianne immediately apologized and asked him if he's okay. Takuya met a pair of concerned blue eyes and sighed. "Finally, you're actually looking at me this time" he muttered. Arianne then realized what just happened, she quickly looked down and tried to excuse herself.</p>
<p>Takuya however didn't let her and firmly held her in place. He then felt the breeze and eventually looked up to see where it was coming from. He found himself with Arianne in what seemed to be the gazebo at the end of the maze of the garden. He can't help but smile and be grateful for the timely transport since he wouldn't want to cause a scene in front of the rest of the family. Not that he was about to cause one, but they actually needed privacy since they were slowly but steadily catching the attention of everyone who saw them dancing, in particular his Uncle Gamma who was giving him the deadliest stare out of all of them.</p>
<p>Takuya looked down again and after a moment of hesitation he gently patted the girl's head. "You really are a very interesting dance partner" he eventually stated, thinking that he can ease the tension of the atmosphere by teasing her dancing skills. He did not push through with the teasing however when he suddenly heard her stifled cries.</p>
<p>Arianne kept looking down as she tried keeping her tears from flowing. She was upset of her dancing since she did had lessons but that was the least of her worries.</p>
<p>'He looked so pale and I can't even support him' she thought as she gripped his sleeves tighter. The young sky was unsure of what he should do since it has been a while since he last comforted her. He began apologizing but this only made Arianne cry more, much to his worry.</p>
<p>"I… can't use my clairvoyance consistently, not like before… so I… trained really hard so that you don't need to protect me… I'm not as good as your guardians but… I want to help you" she stated in between cries.</p>
<p>Takuya paused after hearing this. He took a deep breath and smiled. "Arianne you're helping me a lot just by staying happy… and enjoying your time with your family. I-" he was then cut off as he was suddenly pinched by the girl in the cheeks.</p>
<p>"This… this smile of yours… stop showing me this" she stated, finally looking up and meeting his gaze. It took a few minutes of him pleading before she finally let him go. The young sky would be lying if he said that he wasn't caught off guard by the sudden attack. He quickly massaged his sore cheeks but then stopped when Arianne reached out again but this time, she only placed her hand on his.</p>
<p>"You're not happy, Takuya. You promised me back then… you promised me" her last words echoed in his head as he watched her lean in and collapse. He caught her just in time and quickly checked her condition. "She's… okay. Thank goodness" he breathed a sigh of relief.</p>
<p>Takuya stared at the girl's face as he slowly wiped her tears. 'It's been a while since I last heard you call my name' he thought as an image of him holding a jasmine flower flashed in his mind.</p>
<p>Moments passed and the young sky found himself staring at the stars. He then looked at the maze and smiled. "Come on out" he called out on his thoughts. After a good while, Hinata appeared from the shadows.</p>
<p>"How long have you been there?" Takuya asked, watching his friend slowly approach him.</p>
<p>"As if you don't know that yourself, Secondo. I already know that you can sense my presence even when I'm possessing other vessels aside from Aunt Chrome" his friend responded also in his thoughts.</p>
<p>"Thank you for the compliment, Crestia" Takuya simply answered with a smile which only earned a sarcastic laugh from the girl. The young sky looked at the figure of Hinata who stopped a few paces from where he was at.</p>
<p>"Poor Hinata, he was too eager to see you this morning and now that you've appeared, he won't be able to. Out of all the vessels you can choose from, why him?" he then stated dramatically.</p>
<p>"Oh, do you want me to possess you instead? I can do that" Crestia replied with a straight face. Takuya however pretended not to hear this and continued.</p>
<p>"You know you really have a knack for torturing my dearest childhood friend. Even when we were about to teleport to the past, you tried jumping into his thoughts that pretty much messed up his technique" he stated again in a dramatic manner which effectively annoyed the girl.</p>
<p>"Are you finished?" she asked in reply as she watch the young sky innocently nod his head. Crestia took a deep breath and was about to get back at him when she heard Arianne mumbling her name in her sleep. Takuya looked beside him and felt the girl's grip tighten. He gently patted her head which after some time helped her calm down.</p>
<p>"She would always call your name in her sleep" Takuya stated as he saw the look of confusion on the girl's face. The young sky supplied that he occasionally visits her while she sleeps using the private teleportation hub that they made when they were kids.</p>
<p>"I… visited her more frequently since she- I mean we, started avoiding each other" he stated as he inwardly laughed at the expression Crestia gave him. "Hey, I asked for her parents and Uncle Byakuran's permission every time I visited her, that is until the assassination..." he trailed off. "Besides, I wouldn't be doing this if it weren't for you" he continued as he looked at her with a serious face.</p>
<p>"Don't even try negotiating with me again, Secondo" she warned him. Takuya just sighed in reply and stated that he wasn't even trying to.</p>
<p>"All I'm saying is, show yourself to her or respond to her letters. I don't know how she understood why you needed to isolate yourself but, she's worried sick about you" he stated with furrowed brows, as if he was pleading her to comply.</p>
<p>Crestia turned her back at him. "I'm glad I entrusted my best friend to you after all, Secondo" she stated.</p>
<p>"Don't be. I just made her cry, if that wasn't obvious enough for you" Takuya replied, a pained expression appearing on his face.</p>
<p>She looked partly behind her. "Then, from now on… don't" she responded as she then closed her eyes and returned back to where her original body was.</p>
<p>Takuya felt the girl's presence disappear and was then greeted by a confused Hinata who eventually realized where he was at. The young storm turned around and there he saw a sleeping Arianne leaning on Takuya who was gesturing for him to keep quiet. The young sky then slowly propped up the sleeping girl on his hands and carried her out of the gazebo.</p>
<p>"Hinata, do you think you can teleport us to Arianne's room back at the palace?" Takuya requested as he observed that his friend was clearly searching for someone.</p>
<p>"Did… Crestia came?" he asked. The young sky gauged his friend's expression before finally answering that she did but only for a little while. Hinata went silent for a moment before finally showing a relieved expression.</p>
<p>"I thought she was about to come for my head" he explained which only earned a helpless smile from Takuya. "So, did the two of you made up? I went so far as to picking the most scenic place in the palace for the two of you" he continued.</p>
<p>"I thought I heard you say we're more suited at a prison cell?" the young sky teased. Hinata only grunted at this and told him that he can't do that since it would add to the list of reasons as to why Crestia would eventually kill him one day. He then teleported themselves back to the palace.</p>
<p>As soon as they reached the room, he watched his friend lay Arianne in her bed. She was still gripping unto him tightly, so he eventually excused himself. Takuya then called out to him as he thanked and apologized him for the trouble.</p>
<p>"Why are you being so formal? If you really want to thank me then I would like you to take care of my morning duties for the month" he demanded. Takuya gestured an okay sign at this and continued patting the girl's head since she had her brows furrowed again.</p>
<p>Hinata stared at his friend's back and to the sleeping Giglio Nero heiress beside him. He walked out of the room and slowly closed the door. He then looked ahead the lighted hallway and started walking. As he was about to check on his flame device, he felt something else in his pocket. He gently brought the foreign item out and as soon as he saw it, he smiled.</p>
<p>"Queen of Night" he muttered as he looked at the deep purple colored tulip on his hand. He can't help but imagine her searching for the darkest color of flower since she's too obsessed with dark hues.</p>
<p>'Is this her way of saying thanks, now?' he thought as he eventually stored the flower inside his device.</p>
<p>'I should probably ask Arianne to write her a list of flowers with their corresponding languages…' he continued in his thoughts as he paused and took a deep breath. "…to avoid any misunderstandings on my part" he muttered as he tried regaining his composure and continued walking down the hall.</p>
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